Naruto Shippuden: The Route to Enlightenment
by Egotistical psycho
Summary: All Mist wanted to do with his life was play basketball, help his sister, and watch over his sick mother, but things never seem to follow the right course and usually happens to screw you over until you're actually in a new world...or home. Watch as he discover the secrets behind the three Children of Prophecy and Three Gods. Two paths: good and evil.
1. Prologue Pt 1

So, I decided I wanted to update the first chapter of this because I read over the previous chapter and I just wasn't feeling it. Some may want to read this over.

Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto...just the ocs.

I hope you all like it

Also, check this out. art/New-Kibou-Jitsugetsu-578073809or art/Kibou-Jitsugetsu-Sketching-577610165

**The Route to Enlightenment**

**Prologue**

**Start**

"Some time in the future, I foresee a disobedient boy with eyes of light, and a avenger with the eyes of darkness bringing peace to the world."

In a small pool of water, a humongous toad sat, it being brown and white with a beaded necklace with the kanji for oil around it's neck. The toad was aged, it being wrinkled, his eyes being almost closed. Down below, standing, their was a pale skin man with pale red hair, his eyes lavender with multiple rings throughout the sclera that all circled a dotted pupil with a matching circle in the middle of his forehead, though it was red.

The red haired man stared up at the large frog, question on his face, this being pretty evident. He took a single step forward. "Are you sure, Gamamaru-sama?" He asked. "I can understand both light and dark being compatible with one another, but in this world that will follow me, it is hard to see both coming together to bring peace."

"Don't worry, Hagoromo." The Great Toad reassured. "There is a third." He informed, his head nodding, which caused Hagoromo to blink.

"Wha...-" Hagoromo began. "What do you mean?"

Cracking a frog smile...well...as much as it could, Gamamaru spoke. "His eyes will be both light and dark, being the one that will undoubtedly and ultimately bring the others together to bring about peace and unite the Bijuu."

**Years Later**

'So...another day of this, huh?'

Standing in front of a full body mirror, a shirtless male that looked to be about the age of fifteen, having a very firm and lean build with russet color skin stared at the reflection in the mirror, it staring back at him, both staring one another down, his sharp, blood RED eyes never faltering. The dark skinned male stood there, his eyes never looking away from the mirror, wondering if he would have to endure another day at school, him already being half dress for the usual occasion of the weekdays, navy blue slacks hiding his legs and down to his ankle to hide the tongue of his black dress shoes.

'I swear, it is going to be the same as yesterday.'

The boy twisted head his head to the right, though he kept his RED eyes on the reflection of the mirror, stroking his strong jawline, it being in a oval shape, using left hand, checking himself out. It would be the same routine today as it was yesterday and the day before that...and the day before that.

He then twisted his head to the left, dragging his thumb across his cheek, his soft skin letting his finger slid about. His eyes were still locked onto the mirror, his eyes lowering just a bit, obscuring a bit of his RED iris. In this mirror, he felt as if this was not him looking back at him, but someone or something entirely different. The two of them never seemed to be on the same level, their footing always altered with each movement, both looking through a fourth dimension, though he doubted this because a mirror only projected a two dimensional image and had a lack tuples in which the fourth dimension needed.

The boy turned his head to face the mirror head on, leaning over as he blinked a few times, his sharp eyelashes curving up at the end, which he always thought about cutting off.

Staring at himself a bit more, not taking a chance to blink, letting time drift pass as he was almost lost in his own RED eyes, wondering what life would be like if his eyes were like his sister's. Maybe it would be better than what it was like now...probably even better than that...if that was theoretically possible to hope something that was only a fabrication; a simple concoction of his own mind.

"Yeah, I know, but..." The boy said aloud and to himself as he clapped both his hands on his cheeks twice and stood up straight. "I'm stronger than most." He spoke to himself as he moved from the mirror and to his bed as he picked up a long sleeved, white button down collar shirt and put it on, one sleeve at a time as he then buttoned it up fully. After, he tied a RED tie around the collar, tucking in the white shirt into his navy blue slacks.

"But I know this day will take too long." He said, throwing on a navy blue blazer, though he kept it unbuttoned. Straightening his clothing, he went back to the mirror, fixing the cuffs, so that the white of his undershirt would show.

*Knock Knock* "Mist, are you talking to yourself again?"

The boy dubbed as Mist let his eyes shifted over to the left and at door, hearing the feminine voice come from outside his room. "Be quiet." He said loud enough so that the girl could hear, continuing as he fixed clothes as he looked into the mirror.

"Hm. Again?" The door to his room began to open to reveal a shorter girl, maybe the age of fourteen, having a thin build, hid by a white, long sleeve button shirt that match his, though her's had a ribbon tied in a bow, the shirt being tucked into a lower thigh lenght skirt that was plaid being white and navy blue. She was also dark skinned, though she measured to a more caramel color with a heart shaped head and small lips, her eyes being quite large with brown irises. He hair was straight and raven black, falling to her shoulders with two bangs framing her face and her forehead having bangs in a clip to the right. "You know that's pretty strange, right?" She inquired, her hand on her hip as she watched to boy fix himself, lifting her brow. In her other hand she held a cup of Orange juice.

Mist sighed, his eyes closed, tampering with his tie. "Didn't know you were listening..." His eyes opened, rolling them. "Again." He said as his eyes shifted over to the left and at the girl. "What do you want anyways?" He asked, his tone curt.

The brow of the girl twitched, showing slight irritation at the way he spoke to her, making her regret coming to his room, but she smiled and held her hand out to him. "Here." She offered, kindly.

Mist lowered his arms as he turned to her fully, a questioning look on his face as he analyzed the cup in her hand. His brow raised. "What is it?"

Both her brows seemed to furrow at the question her genius, but also stupid brother asked her. "It's a cup."

"I mean, what's in the cup, Amaya?" He asked, flicking her forehead.

This caused her to flinch back, her face twisting in irritation as a RED spot appeared on her forehead. She grumbled, as she looked up to the boy, hiding her hand behind he back so that he couldn't get the cup. "Why'd you- wait..." Her eyes widened, seeing as his head was tipped back, dripping from the cup. Both her hand came back in front of her, sighing. "How..." She began as she looked up to him. "How can you do that?"

Finishing the cup, Mist shrugged as he lowered it from his mouth and looked down to his sister, a catatonic look on his face. "Maybe it's from my years of basketball practice." He said, crumbling the cup into a small ball, aiming and flicking his wrist as he shot the ball into a waste basket.

"Yeah, maybe." Amaya said, shutting her eyes, placing her hand back on her hip. The boy had grew up athletic, able to move better than most boy, or humans to begin with.

Mist lifted his hand and scratched the top of his head, his hair becoming itchy from irritation. "Aya." He said as he began to scratch with both his hand, his brows knitted at the aggravation.

The girl blinked up at him, her eyes opened a bit wider as she eyed with a obvious look of confusion on her face. "What is it?"

"How long will I have to wear these stupid dreads?" He asked. "You get to wear you hair regularly...why can't I?"

"Hmph, because I'm a girl and my hair is suppose to be like this." She informed, eyeing his raven black short dreadlocks that were everywhere, framing his face and falling to the middle of his neck.

"But this stuff is very pestering." He said, scratching it more calmly now, looking toward the girl. "It may be synthetic, but the irritation is not."

"Okay, take the wig off." She said, waving the boy off with a lazy look on her face. "Go ahead, ignore me."

Mist stopped scratching as he looked to the young girl, confusion written all over his face, blinking.

"Do that..." She lifted her hands. "and maybe everyone will start to treat you 'worst'..." She said, causing the boy to lower his hands in realization, her head shaking as her eyes closed. 'But he has no concept on how good he has it.'

Mist walked around the room and grabbed a two strapped backpack, slinging it over his left shoulder, walking and stopped in front of his sister. "So, I'm about to head out, so make sure you are not late to school again, Amaya." He said as he walked passed her, ruffling her hair, making her head tuck from the weight of his hand.

Amaya had her eyes closed, smiling as her older brother patted her head. "Okay, geez." She said, snickering, her eyes opening and turned to him as she watched him leave his room, but before he made it through his door, she called to him. "Mist, wait!"

The boy stopped in the middle of his door, keeping his back to her, placing his hand on her hip.

Amaya looked to the back of her older brother, her brown eyes lowering. "Today's Wednesday..." She began, the boy's head shifting to the left a bit to look out the corner of his eye, recognizing the significance of this day. "Are we going to visit her today?"

For a few seconds, he stood there in the doorway, thinking ovee his schedule for today, but he shook his head in realization that Ma always came first before anything and he would there. "I get off work at six, so we should meet in front of the hospital at six twenty-five." He said, which caused the girl to smile. "Make sure you have some friends with you...don't want you up there by yourself."

"Yeah, and I'll make sure they're gone before you arrival." Amaya said with a wink and a smirk. "You know how they act around you."

"Just like everyone else."

"It's strange..." She pressed a finger into her cheek as she looked to the ceiling. "Not a lot of people complain about people actually being nice to them."

"Truer words have never been spoken." Mist said, closing his eyes. 'But her eyes aren't like mine...she can't see through people like I can.' He said into his thoughts, refraining from letting his eyes lower, avoiding making the girl worry for him. "Remember, if I get another call about you on your phone in class, I'll destroy that thing." He then left, leaving the girl by herself.

After boy had left, Amaya rolled her eyes as she placed a hand on her hip, scoffing. "Yeah, as if." She snickered and patted her chest with her fist. "Over my dead body."

"I haven't even made it down the stairs yet!"

Flinching at hearing this shout from outside the room, her eyes widened, not expecting this.

**(Break)**

It had been some time since he had arrived at school...being sure to be late, taking the more scenic route, having a fear of walking in, not wanting a chance of walking around with everyone first arriving. Being bombarded by a crowd of teenage would probably mean the end of him. 'Hm...today's going to take too long.' He said, bouncing a white basketball down the hall of the school. On occasions, teachers would come to tell him to stop bouncing the ball, but once they saw who it was, they usually took it back and let him continue with his own thing.

But this was how days usually went in the life of being him.

Most treated him nice out of fear of him. It was simple: fear had turned to the resentment of him, and that what fear usually did to people. He didn't know where this came from, but he guessed everyone, or most acted like this. There was a select few that didn't care too much about his eyes and treated him like a nother person. His younger sister's friends did the same, and it was often bothering. With these acts, they could not grasp how bad this made him feel, how it made see how insignificant people's words were, their lives meaning little to him in the end, but he wasn't going to fall too deep into the abyss.

They were fake, and he only dealt with things that were authentic. His eyes were not like their, but...he guessed he wouldn't have it any other way. Just knowing he was different from other made him happy, but he didn't like the negativity it had and he could feel this without words. All he needed was everyone's smiling faces to tell him they were fake.

After a few minutes of roaming the school casually, he had gotten to the classroom he was suppose to be in, opening the door calmly, holding the ball against his body with his right hand. Not a second later of walking into the class and he was hit by goodmornings, hellos, and other various greetings. He couldn't lie, a small part of him liked it, but he knew it wasn't real and that could not be hidden from him.

The teacher, a blond haired man, greeted him with a smile as he walked.

While being the wiser, he had greeted them back with a eye closed smile, sending a wave to everyone as he walked into the class and found his seat in the middle. He hung his backpack on the back and put his ball underneath, dismissing those who tried to have conversations with him.

He sat down in his seat and twisted back to go into his backpack to see a dark haired girl smiling at him, though he could read the hesitation in her face, the sweat rolling down her face, though tried to hide it with that smile. His eyes rolled as he went into his backpack as the teacher in the front of the class continued to teach. In all honesty, he really couldn't saw he had any type of friends. Being around fake people made him wary to the point where he couldn't have honest conversation with people without him growing sick at the bull bull that came from their mouths.

The only person he kind of got along with was his boss, and he really didn't get along with him, but, besides his sister, he was the only one that wasn't entirely fake and didn't rub him the wrong way.

The only thing that made his situation worst was that he was the first of smartest people in Nevada, and this gave him much recognition that he never asked for a lot of surrounding places. He didn't like being in the public eyes, because, instead of interviewers questioning him on his intellect, they would ask him abouy his eyes and if he was born like that, and gave them the same answer he did at every interview: "they are not contacts and I was most definitely born like this".

Grabbing a pencil from his backpack, he began to do his work at his own pace instead of the whole class pace, speeding pass his math section that was for today rreading over his Social Studies book about American history, filling out each assessment for the theory of quantum entanglement, which took him some time, it being tough for even him. He had blasted through work for the entire day and for the next day, and this took him about four hours since he had arrived at school. The class was still on the second assignment, while he was finished with enough to get him passed the rest of the twelfth grade...if that was possible.

This had left his silently sitting in his seat now, just waiting for time to pass so that he could head to work and finish this day with speaking with his mother. His eyes trailed up to a analog clock at the head of the class , it reading 12:34, this causing his eyes to widen, slapping the book closed as he stood up to his feet.

This had prompted the class to look at him, the teacher stopping his lesson to look at the dark skinned.

Mist took his bag from his seat and slung it back around his left shoulder as he said "I'm late for work, so pardon me" to the class, taking his basketball from under his seat, holding it against him.

"Yes, of course, Mist." The man at the front nodded.

Mist nodded back to the made and left the room, going into his left pocket and pulled out a white touchscreen phone and unlocked it as he walked through the hall. Taking a few second to go through it, he found his sister's name and sent her a text that asked "Where are you".

*In class*

This was the text he read not a second later, him humming at the quickness, texting back "WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT YOUR PHONE IN CLASS" in all caps. After he sent this, there was no following text back to him, a hum in satisfaction coming from his mouth as he pocketed his phone and left the school.

As he walked down the road and on his way to work, he people watched, it still being school hours, so most teenagers were in school, but some could still be seen skipping. Sometimes he would actually stop to tell them the importance of school, but today he was late for work and he came first, so he speed walked. Thinking to himself, something found its way to the front of his mind, realizing he had not seen his work uniform when he had went into his backpack. "Crap...must've left it at home." He grumbled, bouncing his ball on the ground.

Hopefully, his boss would not make too big of a deal about it.

About ten minutes later, he walked through the automatic doors of a bookstore to be greeted by the sight of a few girls behind a checkout station to the, nodding to them as they waved back to him.

"Brandon's pretty mad, Mist." A girl with red-orange hair said to him. "He wants you to meet him in the back room."

Mist sighed and looked to her. "Yeah...it figures..." He said as he began to walk through the moderately large shop, walking through the aisle of the shop which consisted of tall bookshelf that stood closer to the ceiling than one would think.

Going through his mind as he walked through the shop was complete tranquility while transversing to the mountains of books. Besides his mother and younger sister, he had a unwavering love for book, finding all interesting, bringing anew meaning to "don't judge a book by its cover" because he never did.

Finding his way to the back room of the shop, he pulled out a keychain from his pocket, there being two key: a gold one for home and a silver one for the door in front of him. He took the silver key and unlocked the door, walking into a room with a massive supply of books and boxes, some even categorized. The room was quite large in the shape of a rectangle, another door ahead of him which led to the office of the manager. A groan escaped his lips his he closed the door and walked forward, knocking on the glass of the door.

"If that's you, Mist, come in."

"Well, okay then..." Mist mumbled, twisting the knob as he opened the door outward and walked to a teenage, pizza face male with brown hair that fell down on both sides, the older male's nose in his phone, sitting down in a chair with his feet kicked up on the desk.

He stood there for a few second and watched him play on his phone, waiting for the man to acknowledge his presence, but it took him standing the for at least twelve more seconds before his irritation got the best of him and he dropped his basketball from his right hand, letting it hit the floor, but the man never move or made a attempt to acknowledge him. This made him scoff as he stopped the bouncing ball with his right foot.

The teenage in the chair looked from his phone for a quick second, looking the boy up and down. "Where's your uniform?"

Mist blinked at the question, but soon realized what he asked. "Oh, um..." He began as he removed his backpack from around his left arm, moving his foot from the ball as he stepped forward and put the bag on a chair. "I must have left it's at home this morning." He said as he went through his bag. "Would it be fine if I just worked like this?" He asked, looking up to the male.

"Yeah, yeah." He said, waving the boy off. "Just make yourself scarce and categorize the books in the next room." As he said this, Mist looked to the man, brow twitching in slight irritation.

"Can I sit my stuff in here while I work?"

At the question, the manager simple waved the boy off again.

"Ooookay then." Mist said as he heel spun and exited the room, closing the door behind him. His eyes trailed around the room, seeing that there were a handful of boxes to unpack and they usually contained sixty books...to keep it even. It leaned more to sixty three, but he just round to the nearest.

"Okay..." He let out a breath and analyzed the shelf, taking a photo with his mind so that he could remember where each book genre was and what shelf to put it on. Whenever he was put on stock duty, it measured from taking a few hours to at least three minutes depending on the shipments of replacements they got. His eyes lowered at the sight of at least thirty five boxes, which usually held sixty books if one wanted to keep it even. In reality, it held at least sixty three, but he liked to round for the most part. The amount of boxes also told him that this stocking could take a few hours at the most, but it would keep him busy for the most part.

As he began to walk to the boxes, stacked in a row near wall, his mind slowly began to wander. Though his boss acted like a complete anal, he knew what jobs he liked and how to make his day go by in a breeze due to the fact that he also knew it was Wednesday, and he knew his schedule. And he pretty much liked being a stocker a lot more than being a cashier out in the store. This was a better way of staying busy and another way to stay out of sight of all the smiling faces.

Reaching the boxes, he kneeled down and peeled off the tape on it, letting the lids flip open to show a bunch of books, stacked perfectly. Crackling his knuckles, he began to take the first book out, first reading the title of the book and then reading through it a bit to decipher the genre. He would have to do this, putting them in alphabetical and by genre, so this would take some time, but it would definitely keep him busy for a bit...if not for the rest of his time at work.

**(Break)**

"Great...last box." Mist let out a deep sigh as he kneeled down and peeled off the tape. Well...this had been a productive even for him, stacking books like a boss. There was no one to bother him and it was great to have some peace and quiet, this be one of the first in a few days due to Amaya always having friends over at the house and they made too much noise.

He reached into the box and pulled the first of the books out and flipped it over to look at the cover and read the title. "For the Love of a Butterfly." He said as a sudden flash of images came to the front of his mind. It was him sitting on his mother's lap, her reading to him from the book, but it was something strange about this image...something different. Attempting to bring back the image, the boy flinched greatly, his eyes widened as the image vanished, the feeling of eyes watching him.

"Hey, it's time to close-up."

Knocking him from his thoughts, Mist turned to look over shoulder and to the manager who was coming out of his office with a grew zipper hoodie. He stood up to his feet, the book still in his right hand, turning to the man, his brow raise. "Close-up?"

"Yeah..." He said and tossed Mist the hoodie. "Take this...it's pretty cold out there."

This time Mist tilted his head to the side, his bewilderment raising as he caught the hoodie, taking off his blazer and replacing it with the grey hoodie. "Cold? But the sun should be up still."

It was rare, but the teenager face had turned and gain a look of concern. "When was the last time you looked at your phone?"

"Uh..."

"It's five minutes to eight."

Digesting this, Mist eyes widened. 'Amaya!' Wasting no more words, Mist darted out of the back room and into the shop, leaving behind both his backpack and his ball. He ran through the shop, mowing people down that got in his way, showing no remorse to any customers that was still there or workers. Making it outside, he curved on the sidewalk and ran at his top speed.

As he ran in the direction of the hospital, his head was raised, looking directly at the full moon in the cloudless sky, the surroundings being dark. His eyes theb shifted down to his right hand to see he still held that book, putting it in the pocket of the hoodie as he then went into his pants pocket and pulled out his phone to see he had twenty two missed calls from Amaya, the last one being at 6:56 PM. 'Why was my phone on silent?' He screamed in his head, calling his sister as her put the phone up to his ear.

*The caller you are-*

Mist hung up his phone and put it in his pocket as it went straight to voicemail, a grave look on his face, worried for his sister. 'This isn't good.' He said to himself. Amaya was a total phone junkie, so her not answering meant something was not right. With this in mind, his feet only began to move faster, not intending on wasting anytime. He was so ashamed of himself for getting too involved with work to get to those that was really important to him.

After about ten minutes of running at his top speed, he saw the hospital in the distance, but he was running low on energy, though he didn't want to stop. He had more will than he had stamina, but that was not enough to keep him running, which meant he was skidding to a stop as he fell to his knees, his hands slapping the ground. The boy panted heavily, sweat dropping down from his head, his eyes squeezed closed.

'Come on, Mist.' He lifted up, sitting on his knees, wiping the sweat from his forehead, his eyes a bit faded. "Amaya's waiting for you." He said aloud, reassuring himself of what could've happened to her. "Okay..." He pushed himself up to stand on his own two feet, a bit staggered. "You have to keep moving."

Lifting his left foot, he proceeded to run, but stopped before this could happen, a flashing light catching his attention out his peripheral. His head shifted to the left, looking into a dark alley that was occasionally lit up by a flashing light. "Amaya?" A whisper left his mouth as he turned walked into the alley, no hesitation obvious in the lone boy, but he had a cautious expression.

Dweeling deeper into the alley, Mist stopped as he stood over the source of the light, kneeling down to pick it up. It was made out to be a phone and he noticed this the second he touched it. Flipping it over to the screen, he pressed the button on the side, his eyes widening as a picture of Amaya with a few of her free could be seen as the screen saver. He went through the phone and turned the flashlight on, looking down the seemingly endless alley that was now illuminated. "Amaya!" He called out as he began to walk deeper into the alley, shuffling passed dumpsters and garbage bags.

"This isn't funny." He said, the flash aiming down to the ground to see a rat scurry by, but this wasn't on his mind so this didn't bother him. "Amaya!" He called even louder this time.

After a minute of two of walking, he could see something lying on the ground in the distance and this made him run to it. "Amaya?" He said as he closed the gap between him and the figure, his watering to see that it was his younger sister lying in a pool of blood. Quickly, he slid to her side in a kneeling position, dropping the phone, it bouncing, landing on the screen so that the light was pointing up to illuminate the area around.

"Amaya, Amaya!" He called to her as he lifted her up in his hands, resting her head on his knees, noticing that her dark hair was damp. "Amaya, wake up." He pleaded, checking her head, realizing it was blood that her head leaked. He clenched his fist, getting a tight hold of her clothes. "You're not going to do this to me...not to Ma." He grieved, a single tear falling from his left eye.

"Mistiltienn."

His eyes widened as he watched her eyes flutter open, but not fully, to reveal he dead brown eyes. Her voice was strained, the loss of blood getting to her. Even though he knew she was in pain, she was still able to smile through it.

"Behind...you."

"What?" Before he could take this in, the front of his shirt was yanked as he was forcefully spun and hoisted in the air. Groaning, struggling to free himself of the tight grip. His eyes drifted down, glaring to whatever had him hoisted over his head. What he could see was some individual with a orange mask hiding face that had a spiral indentation that focus on a single hole at his right eyes. He gritted his teeth. "You did this to my sister."

"Focus on yourself."

Hearing the deep voice of the man, his eyes almost bulged out his head as he could a RED shine in the hole just before a piercing pain shot from his left shoulder, blood flying into his view.

"Maybe with this blood...things will be different. "

And with that, a spiral distortion came to life around the hole where his eye would be, it soon taking over his own body as he was then sucked into it.

Watching as the boy vanished, the man lowered his arm, smirking behind the mask, stepping on the source of light that illuminated the alley and made it pitch black.

"Things are finally starting to fall into place."

**(Break)**

"Argh." A groan escaped his mouth as he lifted his right hand held his wondering what in the hell happened to him and why the hell was he flat on his butt? He was sitting on dirt, this he could feel, and was leaned up against something behind him. It felt like the rough bark of a tree. He realized the wind was blowing calmly and it was eerily quiet, so he concluded he was outside. After he had made his blind analysis, his eyes slowly cracked open, the sight of a dark forest ahead of him, two dirt trails to the left and right. 'So, it's still night...but where's Amaya?" He closed them back in a effort to let his eyed rest for that moment. A groan escaped his lips as his head leaned over to the left. "Where am I?" He questioned himself, eyes slowly opening to see that he was the only one in the middle of nowhere. The place seemed barren enough.

His bloody red eyes shifted upward to see the branches of the trees stretching over the dirt road, letting just a bit of the moonlight to shine through. Another groan escaped his mouth. He hadn't a clue on what happened for him to end up in this place, but he was sure he didn't want to stay. He still needed to find Amaya and figure out who that guy was. Attempting to push himself up, Mist had gasped in pain as he fell back down and into the tree he had been leaned up against. His eyes hurriedly went and looked down to his left shoulder to see that he had a deep gash through it. The cut was through his gray hoodie and white button down.

How the hell did this happen? His brain began thump as he was flooded with the memory of that man again, seeing him magical cut his shoulder. His whole sleeve was soaked with blood and how could he find help? The first thought that came to his mind was his phone and he reached into his right pocket to pull out his split in half phone. A grimace was the most thing obvious on his face in the disappointment he had to the phone that had somehow been split down the middle. He analyzed it for only a few second. His head then hung. "I didn't have insurance..." This was the truth and it wasn't no point in seeing if it still worked, so he tossed it forward into the vast of trees.

He let out a simple sigh. What was next? Sit here and die? His left arm was already going numb and his vision becoming blurry. These were not good signs to him. But he wasn't the type to just sit around and die, so this caused him to use his right hand as he fell forward and stopped himself before he could hit the ground.

Tightly, his teeth gritted as he felt the stinging sensation come from his left arm, which didn't please him too much. As he stared to the ground or whatever he could make out, his eyes had started to blank out, flickering as if they were lights in a dark room. This look of despair that was currently on his face was soon erased once his brows furrowed and he was able to push himself up to his feet. Though he was a bit wobbly, he was able to steady himself in the best way that he could, but he still hardly see.

"Amaya...you better wait for me."

Now...it was time to walk. But in which direction? Ahead, he had remembered the forest, so that wasn't a direction he wanted to walk in. Especially in his poor state. It was either right or left at this moment, and he chose...

This didn't feel too one hundred. The deep gash on his shoulder was one thing, but it didn't seem like just a cut. He could handle that, but it felt as if he was drugged or poisoned.

All of a sudden, he felt himself tipping forward, and his hands were unable to stop him from hitting the ground this time. As he lay there slowly losing consciousness, he could feel the pool of blood forming under him. Darkness was enveloping him with no hope on seeing any form if light. "Damn...it..." Came his hoarse voice.

This was unbelievable. He was dying and this time he didn't know why. Usually it would be because of his anger management problems, but it was it this time. His eyes began to fade away, letting his lids fall just a bit. "I can't...die...yet..." Was his last whisper as his eyes closed fully. "Amaya."

Then, all of a sudden, a feminine whisper was heard in his ear telling him he wasn't dying yet in a completely foreign language, but he was unconscious before he could properly question who the hell was whispering in his ear.

'You're not going to die yet, Mistiltien.'

**(Break)**

The sun was still bright in the sky, shining over all that enjoyed it, or just needed the light in exchange from the ever so gloomy moon and the darkness that it usually brings.

In a small village that looked as if it were built in Japan's feudal times, a certain woman hung clothes on a wire all by her lonesome. The woman was a bit skeptic at the sight and style of the clothing that she previously and manually cleaned with her hands.

As she hung each piece, she only became more confused due to fact that the apparel differed from what she had been use to seeing. It wasn't in the same class as her navy blue Kimono with a white floral pattern and a white matching obi. She had to admit that this was some of the oddest clothing she had ever laid eyes on.

She lifted up the gray hoodie with the refurbished shoulder and hung it on the wire. This garment bore a resemblance to some of the clothing the people wore in Kumogakure, so she kinda guessed that was where that boy was from. Though he didn't wear the usual Kumo flak jacket, which meant that boy had still been a mystery.

All together, the boy had been an anomaly. Through a gash on his shoulder, the boy had been subjected to a A-rank poison, which had induced a high fever. But that what irked her to a certain degree. Instead of dying, the boy had survived the poisoning and slipped into a coma. The poison was strong enough kill a Jonin, but that boy, maybe of no rank, actually survived. She was pretty perplexed.

Another thing that bewildered her about the boy was that book she had pulled from his hoodie, but the literature was wrote in some strange symbol that made it impossible for her to read.

The boy looked strong, but not strong enough. His chakra was weak, nearing just a mere civilian's, so she could not grasp how that boy was still breathing. As she continued to hang the boy's clothes, she began to think over this situation: maybe he could be apart of a extremely powerful clan, which caused him to survive that poison. Maybe he was an Uzumaki, apart from the fact he had dark hair, dark skin, and red eyes. 'Hmmm...' No. That couldn't be.

Her eyes had then blinked a few time as the sound of a bird chirping in her ear was heard. She had been freed from her thought to the sight of her standing in the backyard of her large dojo like home.

Or maybe he just had a stroke of luck that simply save him from dying. That could be it. After she had finished hanging the damp clothes, she nodded to herself. Guess it was time to check on her little tenant. At that, she turned to the left, gracefully, and began her march to her home, hands behind her back with a simple smile on her face.

Once she made it, she lifted her left hand and slid the door to the right as she then walked through and into a room. She closed the door behind her all while looking to a futon in the middle of the floor, it's occupant being a dark skinned boy with a strange hairstyle that seemed to be tied like ropes, and they were also long, though they simply feel to his shoulder, but she hadn't a real concept on the actual length.

Her take on him was that he was well fit with an athletic build. He looked to be a Chunin in appearance, but she knew looks could be deceiving, and with that thought she remembered his chakra levels. Just a mere civilian.

The boy had been covered up from his feet to his lower chest, which was bare showing his upper chest. His eyes were closed just as the same as earlier. But earlier, the boy had been sweating profusely and his breathing was irrational. His state had seemed to change since that time. Her eyes slowly, but surely scanned the area around. It hadn't seemed like he had moved yet, so she guessed he still was unconscious. He was still recovering from the fever, so she would give him some time.

On his left shoulder was stitching of a gash that had been previously opened before she had got to him. He had lose a lot of blood and yet he was still breathing. "When will you be waking up?" She spoke aloud, but to no one in particular. The boy had been sleep for a good three or four hours and she didn't want it going on five or worse...six.

The woman just let out a exasperated sigh as she hung her head in a impatient way. Though a retired Anbu Captain for Konoha, she could be really impatient. She didn't like plans and were usually effected by her emotions due to the fact she was ruled by them. Love, hate, envy, jealousy...she was a tool to them all. She never liked to admit it but it was true. She turned back to the door leading outside and began to lift her left arm.

"Hey..."

The woman heard the shuffling noises from behind her and she looked over her left shoulder to see the boy sitting up rubbing the top of his head with his eyes closed.

"Where am I?" He asked. "Where's my sister."

The woman slowly turned and faced the boy with her hands in front of her body. "You are within the Land of Fire." She answered, withholding any more information in the case this boy was a spy sent to infiltrate his current location, or Konohagkure. "I found you outside the village and I brought you here to treat you and you were alone out there."

As he heard this, the boy had stopped rubbing his head and sat still for a few seconds until he said, "The Land of- what?", in a pretty confused tone.

"Hmm...what?" The woman spoke in a confusion that was a bit more elevated than his. She took a single step forward with her head tilted. "Haven't you heard of the Hidden Nation? The Five Great Nation?"

The boy only shook his head. He had never heard of what she had been talking about. The Hidden Nation? He wasn't even sure if this woman was speaking proper english, though he could understand her fully. It was like she was speaking a whole other language. "What happened to," As he began to speak, his eyes slowly began to open. "America?"

The woman took a few more steps toward the boy until she only stood a mere three feet from the sitting boy. "What?" She began to shake her head in a disapproving way. Her brown eyes scanned the top of his head, waiting for the unfunny joke to end. Those brown eyes of her narrowed when that joke had seemed to go on. At that, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Where are you from? What village?"

"Village?" The boy raised a brow as he lifted his head to look forward, though the woman WAS to his right. He blinked a few times in confusion. "Don't think I can call Nevada a actual Village?" As he spoke, this sound of obvious bewilderment caught the woman as she watched the boy shifted and lift his head to look up at her.

Once she was able to see his face, she had become frozen as they locked eyes with one another. Her eyes was widened for a bit as she saw nothing but darkness, but she had returned to normal as soon as it happened.

The dark skinned boy continued to look up at her. "Are you okay?" He inquired in slight concern. He stared up to the pale skinned woman who seemed to have a slender and fit body under that dress. Her facial features looked soft with a heart shaped face that was framed by brown hair that was tied up in a messy bun. Her eyes were a matching brown, or a bit darker due to the fact that he couldn't distinguish the iris from the pupil. By the look of her height, seemed to be just a bit taller than him. She was transendent, a aura of utter elegance surrounding her along with great wisdom, though

"Yes," The woman nodded to him as she lowered her right hand to her side and lifted her left hand to her forehead. Those RED eyes. They were something demonic...like the Sharingan. But the Sharingan was only known to be used by Uchiha...and last she check, the Uchiha were pale skinned individuals. And wait, there were only two Uchiha left in the Nations. "I'm fine." Was her reply as she shook her head. 'That couldn't have been Genjutsu, could it?' She questioned herself, staring at the boy in the eye. It seemed to only work with the first glance. 'If it was, why is his chakra levels so low and insignificant?'

The dark skinned boy noticed her staring and he just raised a brow in bafflement. His cheeks began to warm just a bit as he looked back down to his lap.

There was a few seconds of silence- silence that just seemed a bit too long for the two of them, so the woman broke that silence. She shook her head as the bangs framing her face swung. "But besides that..." She took a single step forward and went down to one knee and got eye level with the boy.

"What?" The boy questioned as his eyes shifted over to the right to look at the woman.

The woman stared directly at the boy with no hesitation or thought on how uncomfortable it made him feel. "I never heard of this 'Nevada', so level with me..." She had come to a few conclusions on why this boy had never heard of the Hidden Nation, and one of them was the thought of him having amnesia. But the boy had given her a name on where he was from so she had to rule out the amnesia scenario.

The boy nodded.

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Where is it."

The dreadhead looked at her as he continuously deducted each tally that said he was still home in Nevada. He wanted believe that he was still there, but the woman talking in this language that he weirdly understood only stopped him from believing. "So, you don't know what it is, huh?" He spoke, hoping another reassuring answer would come from her small lips.

She shook her head.

His head lowered back down to his lap as he just stared there for a few seconds. That was when his thoughts were concluded. He never really believed in travelling through dimensions or worlds, but this made him believe in it fully. She didn't know about Nevada or America, so he had to be somewhere that wasn't on earth. He then slowly laid down on his back and stared to the ceiling. 'Mom...I sorry...I don't know if I can look after Amaya anymore.'

"So..." The brown haired woman leaned over the vision of the young boy and looked into his eyes.

"Huh?"

"You've come to the same conclusion that I had?" She asked, a small smile gracing her features.

The boy only looked up at her with a catatonic stare across his face.

"Am I right?"

The boy simply closed his eyes and let out a sigh in acceptance. He wasn't the type to freak out in situations, and he wasn't about to lose himself because he was somewhere that wasn't in anyway familiar to him.

"Hmm?" The woman hummed as she stared down to the boy. She went inside of her kimono and pulled out the book she had retrieved from the pocket of his hoodie. "Can you teach me how to understand these symbols?"

Mist eyes shifted to her, his eyes lowering, this book the only thing he could use to remember his mother. "Yeah...okay..."

She then shifted backwards as she sat on her knees, placing the book on her lap, watching him lift up, slowly. She knew he wasn't fully in shape to be moving, but, nevertheless, he still attempted to move.

Once the boy sat up fully, he shifted and turned his head to the right to look directly in her eyes, but the woman quickly looked away to avoid his gaze. His brow cocked in bewilderment. 'Is she shy?'

The woman continued to avoid his eyes. In the case that was Genjutsu, she would have to employ a special cancellation technique to prevent her from being caught within a Illusion. After channeling enough energy through her chakra network, her eyes shifted back to him.

'Guess not.' He shrugged his shoulders briefly as he looked at her with an indifferent stare. "But who are you, anyways? And where am I?" He spoke curtly, letting his eyes close slowly. "Not that I mind being isolated in a place with a strange woman." Letting this mumbled sentence out, he shrugged once again.

The woman's brow twitched a bit. Her eyes were closed and her teeth were gritted in irritation after hearing the words leave the boy's mouth. In the next few seconds, her clinched fist began to lift.

The boy simply sat there with his eyes closed waiting for an answer. "Ow!" He yelled out after a fist had collided with the top if his head, and he looked to the right at the woman who sat on her knees with her hands over her lap. Her eyes were closed, acting as if she hadn't done a thing.

"Last I remember," The woman started as she flattened the cloth of the kimono on her lap. "It is polite for a man to introduce oneself in a situation as this." She informed causing the boy to raising a brow. "It is proper etiquette for a male your age to show great and befitting mannerisms toward a woman of my age."

The boy gave her a blank stare. "So, a woman about fifty." He said with no hesitation.

Once again, the woman's brow twitch in irritation. A tick mark was visible in her forehead. Guess this boy hadn't been around too many females in his life.

The boy raised a brow, but then her fist collided with the top of his head and this time left a animatedly large bump on the top of his head. "Hey, what the-"

Before he could finish, the woman looked to have never moved. She sat in her same position on her knees about two feet away from him with her eyes closed and her hands on her lap. "Its not polite to speak ill of a woman's age when she clearly looks thirty and not fifty, because if she was fifty, she would have wrinkles or crow's feet, while this woman doesn't have any distinctive feature that resembles this, now do she?" She spoke in a voice that said she had not like those words.

"Uh..." The boy just gave her an awkward look as the woman had ranted. Guess someone had a problem with aging.

"Now..." Visibly, she seemed to calm down, though no one could actually see how she was feeling on the inside. She let out a calming breath, letting her eyes open to meet his. "Give your name."

The boy huffed and crossed his arms. "I thought I asked you first."

The woman rolled her eyes. "Didn't you hear anything I just said?"

"Nothing I can remember..." He said blankly.

"I'm not going to repeat it." She spoke in a tone that matched his in boredom and stubbornness.

"Just repeat your name."

"I haven't given it yet."

"Then what is the point of all this talking?"

"You tell me."

"But I just asked you!" This time, the boy's voice got a bit rougher and her narrowed eyes to her, shifted his body so that he could sit in a sloppy Indian style.

"And I told you to tell me!" At this, her eyes also narrowed, leaning forward toward him

"Tell you what?" This turned into a actual yell.

"Your name!" She didn't yell, but she let out something that would put her point across.

"Oh, Mist." He spoke in a dull tone.

The woman prepared for another yell, so she had got her vocals ready and prepared to yell, but once she had heard this dull voice, she gave the boy a skeptic look with her head cocked to the right. She blinked a few times. "Mist...?"

The darker skinned boy nodded as he pushed on his knees and got himself up to stand at his full height. The woman's skeptic eyes continued to follow him. He gave a short stretch as he said, "Yep, since birth" in a strain voice due to a yawn.

"What of your surname?" She asked politely.

"I don't have one." Mist informed the woman as he stared back down into her eyes. He watched her nod.

"Well..." Her eyes closed. "My name is Kai Asa, and you are within a village nearing Konohagakure."

"Kai Asa?" He had to think for a few seconds. Oh...he threw in a guess and made a quick assumption and took a guess that he was in Japan. Maybe in feudal times. These thought didn't come from how she had pronounced her name, it came from how this house was set up, having Japanese themed paintings and memorabilia, the dress she wore, though it was called a Kimono, and...the name. Yes, it actually played a part. But it only confused him more about the situation to him actually asking when did he learn a second language. For each and every time he attempted to speak in English, the woman's native language only seemed to come out. The boy simply continued to stare at her with a contemplative look on his face.

"Hmm?" The woman dubbed as Asa cocked her head to the side in confusion as she continued to stare up at Mist. "Is there something wrong?" She asked. "I know its strange, you being from somewhere entirely different, not having an idea-"

"You have a boy's name." Mist spoke as if it was that simple.

The woman had stopped talking with her mouth still open. She stared up at the boy with her brow twitching in absolute irritation. "Say what?" How did boy had have this surprising niche for slipping under her skin and bothering her. The constant vexations would prove to lessen her abilities around him and show her most unlady-like personality. Instead of slamming her fist into his skull, she blew out a calm breath to soothe her in this situation.

"I'm just saying that a friend I knew once had the same name." Mist explained. With this information, he had a thought that their worlds weren't to far apart.

"Its a unisex name." She said. In the break of her sentence, she decided to speak before the boy could so that he wouldn't have the time to say something that would get him murdered. "But for now on, I have taken it upon myself to be your guardian since we both know your situation."

"Why?" Was the only thing Mist said in his confusion in slight astonishment at how this woman could take in a complete stranger.

"Because," Asa began as she lowered her head with her eyes closed and her hands on her lap. "That world out there can be very dangerous, and, no matter how much I want to put a muzzle over your mouth, I wouldn't want to see you hurt...or dead."

Mist opened his mouth, but was cut off.

"And in return for you being a good boy, I teach you about this world."

**End**

**So, yeah...there it is. I wanted to do a New Age Naruto Twist since most had seemed to stop. And yes, I do mean the dark skin thing. There have been alot of good Naruto Fanfic containing dark skin individual with a variety of personalities, but I wanted to do one with a...kinda odd OC. I haven't seen too many OCs with the ability to use Genjutsu.**

**If y'all like dark skin OCs, then I would check out "My Life as Ishikari Mayu". It's a good Naruto fanfic, ya know.**

**With that being that, I hope to cover the Naruto Shippuden storyline, but with a few side stories here and there, so if you like it, review or whatever.**

**At this point in the story, Naruto is still in the middle of his training with Jiraiya.**


	2. Prologue Pt 2

**The Route to Enlightenment**

**Prologue**

The time he has spent with her...he couldn't say it was blissful or calm. It was more on the scale of outrageous and/or sort of pestering. He and Asa got along fine, but they obviously had their faults with one another, from the subject of physical training or eating habits. Both of them always got into arguments with one another and they could never see eye to eye with most situations. In this short time of him knowing Asa Kai, he found out this woman was immensely impatient in all ways and usually threw a fit if things didn't happen right away and with a flourish...so, could she actually be considered a adult? This question seemed to find it's way to the front of his head far too often. Though, with this a fact, he quickly found out not to interfere if she had it out for a certain something or person. In the end, you may end up being split down the middle by a clean cut of wind. The woman was strong, this came from the observation of the woman practically lifting her index finger and shot a house into the sky by a geyser of wind, striping it from the ground as if it was nothing. Though they were too different in more ways than one, he seemed to like her when she wasn't acting like a total abomination.

Through a quick summation from the older woman, he had learned that she was a retired Anbu Captain, though she usually took missions from only a person called the Hokage from that Konohagakure place. She only received these mission when the usual Anbu team couldn't complete it. This was because she was a Tokubetsu Jonin, her natural skill being a practitioner of wind. There had only been at least three of these missions he had been on with her and that meant him travelling to Konoha with Asa and it took about a day and a half. Asa never had expressed how much it had bothered her that the trip could've been only a few hours if he had the proper chakra control, but he knew it irritated her. So, usually, the both of them walked to Konoha.

There, he met a woman named Tsunade, a blond haired, twin ponytail woman, and only ten minutes of meeting her, she had punched him through three walls...or so. He couldn't remember because he had blacked out too early. And it was probably on his part of commenting on her age.

There in a room about fifteen feet long and ten feet wide, the dark skinned boy by the name of Mist lay there, soundlessly on a futon with him on his right side, staring to the wall just a bit away from him. His gaze wasn't on the wall particularly. In actuality, he was zoned and just staring off into space. It had been a rough night for him letting his thoughts trample on the fact that he wasn't back in the United States anymore and was now in Japan. Or maybe in a world different from his entirely. This thought came from the era they were set in at they moment.

These nights of restlessness had gone on since he had arrived in this place. He never understood the reason for him to be awake all hours of the day, or he just never thought his rampant mind and conscious was the one keeping him up at night.

After a brief, and educated tour around this village, he had concluded that the setting was just a bit off from the timeline he had come from. He had read about the Era between the Japanese timeline and he had deduced that this could be close to the Feudal Eras in Japanese history. So, did he travel back in time? He wouldn't think so, because he knew Japanese people were not ignorant and neglected the existence of America. The boy let out a sigh in silent contemplation. The real matter at hand wasn't where he was at though, it was the abundance of him thinking about how in God's name was he suppose to get back home when he only had minor information on where he was.

'The Wheat Village, a branch village of a place called Konohagakure.' The boy spoke in his mind, blinking his eyes. Apparently, this village was connecting to one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, as Asa would put it, within this even larger place called the Land of Fire, and that was located in a even larger place called the Hidden Nations. From his prospective, this would be a continent in his world.

That woman had taught him a lot about this place. Things she told him that would come in handy for the next few days...or months. Like one being this thing called chakra that, presumably, most civilians and Ninja all the same wield, though civilians used this rarely. Maybe even him and the human from his world utilized chakra without even knowing it. But with them being civilians, if they did, they wouldn't have enough energy to do much without experiencing chakra exhaustion.

He let out a soft breath. No intent came to mind about becoming stronger. Being trained in the proper use of chakra when he was back home would've be beneficial to him and his loved ones, but being here changed things. The ones he cared for...they weren't around, so that eliminated his want to protect. And without this drive, he couldn't be bothered with this fabricated thing.

"Tsk." He suddenly sucked on his teeth in irritation that had rose and bubbled to the surface without any warning on its arrival. His brows were knitted with his red eyes showing anger and this anger was pointed at the wall. All of his teeth were gritted down on each other. Why the hell was he here? Why wasn't he back home with his phone-addict sister and a few friends? And more importantly, why couldn't he have a memory of his mother? Bet these questions had no answer at all!

In a instant, the area where Mist had been glaring had been dotted with a small black point as it then grew in an outward fashion in a wide circle. The sound of wood being crunched could be heard as the circle continued to expand and expand, beginning to spread on the surface he was on. It seemed as his animosity grew and these thoughts flew around his dome, it grew stronger and a breeze seemed to be in reverse and going into the hole.

His eyes continued to narrowed to a fraction of a hairline until his eyes suddenly snapped opened wide and a gasped escaped his lips and the hole shut in a nanosecond with a huge boom. The aftermath of the moment left the boy panting with bits of sweat rolling down his head and onto the pillow. The boy, his red eyes stared blankly to that wall with fatigue obvious in his eyes. "What was that?" In a attempt to grasp onto reality, Mist was only greeted by...

BOOM!

"What the hell was that noise!" At that yell, the sliding door had been kicked down to reveal the ever so anxious Asa Kai.

"Ah!" Mist shot up and looked toward his feet and to the opening where Asa stood. His brows were furrowed, which displayed his obvious irritation to the current event. "What the-" He yelled out as he scurried to his feet and shot directly at the woman who startled him.

As Mist charged, Asa gasped, watching the younger boy close in on her. In that next second, he slammed his forehead to her's since he only happened to be just a bit shorter than her. "What the hell?" Timing it correctly, she had forced her forehead down on his, though she had completely ignored the fact that she wore a black headband with a thick metal plate which had a spiral leaf insignia incised in the middle.

"Ah crap!" Seeing what was about to happen, Mist was already in the motion of throwing his forehead up at her when her's collided with his and made his knees buckle under him and teeth to clinch down nearing the verge of cracking them. Both his eyes were squeezed closed, letting the vibration from the collision travel through his body, though this didn't stop him from taking a single step back away from the woman.

"What did I tell you last time?" The woman asked, a soft smile gracing her features as she looked upon the boy. Her hands had been placed on her hips. Receiving no response from the cringing boy, she closed her eyes and shook her head in embarrassment for the boy. "You going hand to hand against me is just deliberately asking for a casket with your name on it." She informed him.

"Be quiet." Mist retorted, quickly. The boy had recuperated and shook his head vigorously and then looked up to the woman with his hands to his side and the usual catatonic glare the woman had come to "love"...

Asa realized quickly that this was the closest she was going to get from Mist that was a smile, a smile that had seemed buried for the last month he had been staying with her. She would be lying if she said she understood the whole "Homesickness" thing, but she couldn't bring herself to lie to the secretly hurting boy. It would take time, but she could wait for the irritating boy to open up to her.

"This is the fifth time you've knocked this door down." He spoke, pointing his right index finger down to the door that was under her feet, which she had seemed to just notice. "I mean, I appreciate the 'privacy'," He seemed to use that word loosely. "But you just kicking this door down after you 'so-called' attempt to save my life or just when ever you feel the need, or say that sliding it is boring...I could take it up with the landlord."

Asa stared at the slightly shorter boy for a few second and then huffed at the boy and grabbed his cheeks and pulled them in comical fashion. She got eye level with the boy and said, as he grimaced in pain, "I'm the landlord, so talk."

At that, the boy gripped her wrist with both his hands and ripped away to stumble backward and trip over his covers and fall to his butt on the futon, throwing the covers into the air as if came back down and landed on his head, draping and hiding his left eye.

Asa let out another huff, but in laughter after watching the boy. She took a single step closer with her hands back on her hips and her brown eyes shifted down toward the boy. As she opened her mouth, the covers feel over his head and covered his face, though it only revealed his right eye. "And you don't pay me, LEECH." She quipped.

The eye that was visible blinked. He simply remained sitting on his butt as he came up with something to say. It wasn't really hard to win a argument against the blunt woman. "With fake money, I can." He nodded under the sheets.

Asa grew a frustrated look and crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her black shinobi sandals on the wooden floor plank. "Do I look like an idiot?" She asked, a tick mark ready to grow from the smart alecky remark he was destined to say.

"From my prospective..." Mist single eye shifted up and down to scan the woman and her clothing. The woman wore the resemblance to a black, skintight wifebeater that clung to her figure, showing her thin waist and her natural bust and the clothing only reached below her belly button. Over it was dark fishnet armor that was long sleeved and also fitted around her neck. Around her neck was a long black scarf that fell down to her calves. On her legs, she wore skintight black leggings that reached just to the middle of her calves. She had white bandages around her right thigh and a pouch including one over her left butt cheek. Her hair was falling down to her lower back in a ponytail with the two bangs framing her face, though the top of her head was hid by a mask that looked similar to the face of a falcon with black tribal painting. He let out a long hum...and then chose to speak. "Do it have to be my depiction of you?"

WHAM!

Asa stood in her space shaking her limp right hand that had recently met the base of Mist's skull after the remark. Her brows were furrowed as she looked down at the unconscious boy with the lump at the top of his head. "Next time, I won't be so graceful." Truth be told, what grace did knocking a boy cold out have? Now, what she had planned would have to wait until the boy rose from his slumber.

She sucked her teeth in irritation. "Wake up, leech." Her eyes were lowered just a bit.

After twenty minutes of waiting, you could find Asa on her back porch with her legs crossed in a Indian style having her feet up top. In the middle of her lap was a unwrapped scroll and a paint brush in her right hand. A small jar of ink was on the right of her, though brush had the appearance of already being dabbed in the ink.

Asa looked at the paper for a bit and lowered her hand to it. She had to compromise with the time being wasted due to Mist having the symptom of being sleep. Her eyes wandered just a bit in a innocent as if she didn't have a hand in Mist dozing off. She let her eyes drag back down to the paper and wrote, "My deepest apologies, Lady Hokage, but the rude boy you asked about will being starting his training later on today than this morning." As she wrote, she had mouth the words. She lifted her hand and brought it back down on the next line. "Mi- I mean, that leech has has a large chakra supply, but it won't be easy to develop and he'll be completing his training in at two months, which mean he'll be attending the Chunin Exam in time. Once again, my deepest apologies on the delay."

Once she had finished, Asa placed the brush in the jar and then rolled up the scroll, placing it on her lap. Her eyes closed as her lips had then puckered and she whistled in a pulse like rhythm. Slowly, her eyes began to open as a large brown falcon flew and landed in front of her.

Asa grabbed the top of the scroll with her left hand and began to roll it up as she said, "I need you to deliver this to the Hokage of Konoha." She explained to the bird as it nodded. When she finished rolling the scroll, she handed it over to the bird. "Get this to her as fast as you can, Hana."

The bird dubbed as Hana flapped her wings and began levitate off the ground, clipping her boney feet to grab the scroll. Once the bird had the scroll in its grasp, it made a loud screech and flew into the air.

With a look of slight thought, Asa watched the bird off in the direction of the Leaf. Hopefully, Mist would wake up soon and they could begin his training he didn't know about. She sort of gave him hint by telling the basics of chakra control and the fact that she told him he wasn't the best of fighters and he had hidden potential. He was fit and had a lot of endurance including stamina.

Let her have a full two months with the boy and he would be as tough as she was when she was at that age. Now that she thought of it, Mist could have a hell of potential on a certain team that came to mind. But Mist being Mist, he wouldn't get along with the team's hyperactive Ninja and they would surely fall more times than not. Naruto...well, he was an idiot, while Mist seemed to be a bit more intelligent, though he usually let his anger blind him in most occasions. The one to level them out would likely be the more caring one on the team, Sakura Haruno. Wait...now when she thought on it, Sakura might have been the caring one, but her last visit to the village had her thinking that the Lady Hokage had a doppelganger. The commonality between the two of them were uncanny.

But she also knew Team 7 wouldn't just welcome Mist with open arms and a celebratory hug and cake. About a year and a half ago, this team had lost a key member and Shinobi of Konoha. The boy was named Sasuke Uchiha, the younger brother of Itachi. She hadn't the full details on what the relationship the team had with the boy, but she did know when he left, it had left a void in Team 7.

Hopefully, Mist could fill this void and help this team bring the lost Uchiha back to the village.

"You know I could've hurt you?"

Asa let her eyes shift over to the left and over her shoulder and look up at the boy standing at his full height with his arms crossed. "You could've- what?" She questioned, letting one of her brows cock in confusion.

Mist just stood just a foot behind her with his blank look on his face.

Asa pushed out a soft sigh and untangle her legs to let her feet hang off the side of the porch. Right below her feet was her black sandals and she pushed herself off the porch and slid her feet right into them. "Ya know..." She started in a preppy voice. "Forget what you just said." She said, looking up to the boy standing on the porch with his customary expression.

Mist raised a brow, cautious of what the woman below him might do. Usually, she would attempt to challenge him if he made a comment like that, but she seemed to brush it off this time. His eyes narrowed down at her suspiciously.

"You..." She pointed her left middle finger up at Mist. "And I..." She pointed back to herself. "Have some things to do, and it can't wa-"

"Shhh..." Mist held his right index finger up to his lip as he shushed her and it caused her to stop in the middle of her sentence, letting her eyes blink in confusion. "I hear something..."

"Uh?" Her brow raised, intrigued at what the boy could be hearing. She had the skills of a Shinobi of a high status, so she could admit to being interested in what Mist could be hearing. "What?"

Mist unfolded his arms and let them drop back down to his side to stare down at the woman. "..." He left a burning silence that was accompanied by a sharp intake into his nose. Even the most trenchant person would be afraid of the woman enough to know that they wouldn't even attempt to annoy her, but he wasn't most people. He was Mistiltien. "Your voice."

"What?" Her interest toward the subject had suddenly vanished in turned into a complete detachment to the whole thing.

He looked away from her to the right as he waved the woman off with a deadpan look. "Your voice," He repeated himself. "Its like a pestiferous lover that continuously returns no matter how many times you reject them."

Asa's brows knitted in total displeasure to the boy's words. Her fist were clinched, visibly shaking at her sides with her teeth being gritted. "You little-"

"And I have something to take care of right about now." He looked to his wrist to a invisible watch. He let his right arm fall back down to his side as he eyed the woman. "So whatever you have planned can wait." The boy was actually making no room for an argument with his straightforward attitude.

"Who..." She took a single step forward and raised her fist at the boy. Her eyes were shot up at the boy, ruturning a glare to the boy who seemed to wear it twenty-four hours a day. "I don't remember saying you can leave."

"So, this is a holding pin nowadays, huh?" He asked, his eyes traveling around the environment. Only for a few second, the woman below him had a look of confusion across her at the question that she had depicted as more of a statement coming from the young male. In a sharp manner, his eyes had darted back to her. "Though I cannot really imagine you keeping me in 'check'."

Asa let a growl come from her mouth as her eyes narrowed and the glare became deeper. "Where do you get off talking to me like that?" She asked, but she had spoke before he could. "Even when I handcraft you some new clothes to add to your collection, you still manage to treat me like you don't care..." Her voice was soft, though it seemed she wanted it to come out as a yell. "Its like you haven't changed from the first time we met...its like you don't even care..."

The expression on Mist's face hadn't changed though. He heard her completely, and actually made him feel bad. It wasn't his intention to piss her off every time he got, though it was a bit fun, but the events usually unfolded for themselves to play out like this. His eyes slowly shifted down to his body in a remembrance of the new gray, hand stitched hoodie with a thick white line across the halfway point down with rest of the hoodie being blood red that had been equal to his own eye color, though the pocket on the waist were gray. On his legs were black cargo shorts that reached passed his knee with white lining down the sides, and black sandals.

Everything she made, including this, had been made to fit him especially. The colors seemed to be right and to his liking and she had modeled everything from what she had heard about his world, and from the book her taught her to read. He appreciated her hospitality: her letting him live with her without knowing a single thing except that he wasn't primarily from that world. Showing how much he cared was just impossible for him to do toward someone he didn't care for. Well...he couldn't put it like that. He cared for her and her wellbeing, but it was to a certain extent.

Which meant he cared for her, but if it came to him protecting his family members, then guess who would come up unlucky. Brushing that aside, Mist only closed his eyes and decided not to respond to the woman. "But I have to do something." He spoke, a tone bearing the resemblance of his usual. The woman had slowly regained her composer and just stared up at the boy with her upper eyelids raising a bit. "I promise, I'll be back before it get too late and we can do what you wanted."

Asa eyed him for a few seconds noticing his dreads were done in a similar way as her hair, but it wasn't as long as her's. It was a cute look for him, but she wouldn't admit, because she already knew Mist wouldn't return the praise. Her eyes then widened mentally in a mini freak out. 'Is he wearing it better than me?'

Aside from the small freak out, Asa just stared back at the boy, who simply stared back at her as if they were having a staring contest. Her facial then softened with a weak sigh coming from her closed mouth. "How about you smile just once for me."

Mist simply stared at her for only a few seconds, contemplating to heed her slight order. All the time he had been around her, he hadn't a memory with him smiling around her. It wasn't that he didn't smile, it was just... "I'll see you later." He spoke and turned his back to the woman.

"You know..." Asa started as a caring smile crossed her face and her eyes was locked on his back.

Mist stood there looking directly at the door.

"When your having a bad day and you need someone to speak to, I'll be here for you."

A huff was heard coming from Mist as he slid the door open. "Yeah." He nodded and stepped through the door, closing it behind him.

The smile on her face stayed. She liked the boy, but he just had too much on his plate at the moment. Him opening up to her could take awhile. She wouldn't rush him. Matter of fact, she would take it slow with their relationship. They both knew a bit about one another, but when he decided to tell her more about himself, she would be there to listen.

Her facial expression suddenly turned serious. Mist leaving couldn't go ignored. It was true that the enigma usually left to study the village and analyze his way around. Though he usually did this in the morning, when the sun was sometimes high in the sky. A grin crossed the beautiful features on her face. "Time for a trail." And not a second later, she used the shushin technique and vanished into thin air only leaving behind a slither of smoke.

**(Later That Day)**

The sun that had been in the sky earlier in the day had began to fall just a bit turning the scenery around the village just the right type of sunrise orange. Ironic, huh? The clouds in the sky cruised gently in a way of leisure, a calm and relaxing way that told the world that rain was a long ways away.

Though the day had been nearing its end, that didn't seem to lessen the spirits of each of the villagers, either working, cleaning, or just chilling. Everyone in a orderly and calm fashion had waved as a certain boy walked through the middle of the dirt road. They had seemed to be on good terms with the boy who simply returned the wave, though with a blank face.

It wasn't to hard too guess that it was Mist that everyone through the village had taken a liking to. He stuck out so hard with his dark skin and his weird hair style that some had taken the pleasure of letting him do like his. In spite of these things, the reason why he was known just a bit around the village was because he had done various task for those who needed them and done some for those who didn't need it. He did this purposely. It was the quickest way into their heart and he knew if he had got him a legitimate place in that fragile place, he could be saw as a careful person of this village...or that other one Asa mentioned heavily. He wasn't evil, he was smart and strategic. In the case he would need to use this village against Asa, he needed them to like him enough for them to turn on Asa if they ever had a fall out.

Anyone that saw this as mean could only receive a head shake from him. In a quick explanation, you would have to remember that Mist, himself, was a mere visitor to this village, so if something did happen and it wasn't right, the cards would be in his hand. As he told everyone before, he is a genius. Planning things out is like a calling for him. If he sees a scenario, trust and believe, he will make it a reality.

"Hey, Misty-chan..."

At hearing the feminine voice and the familiar nickname, Mist had looked over to the left to a Dango shop that he usually went to with that girl sitting on the bench with her eyes closed and a smile plastered on her face, giggling to him. Her right hand was raised over her head, waving him over to her.

"I'm over here."

Mist nodded and began to walk over to her with his usual look. This girl was named Kaiya Oshiro, one of his very first friends. She was a cute girl, maybe the height of five foot seven inches, just a bit shorter than him. Her skin was slight tanned with a beauty mark right under the right corner of her lip. She has a heart shaped head with very animated golden blond hair that has the appearance of being superbly messy, falling over her forehead and it having a clip on the left side her of it being a ladybug. When her eyes are opened, they were a mesmerizing cyan blue with her eyes being large.

Her body structure was small and slim, but it was usually hid with a bright yellow jacket that is long sleeved she has zipped up to her chest to reveal a black V-neck shirt that hung from under the jacket and to her tight maroon slacks that reach just passed her knees. On her feet, she wore brown one inch heel like shoes that showed her toes.

As Mist closed in on her, her eyes began to open to look a the boy and show her cyan orbs to him. She usually had a smile on her face. "You're kinda late, Misty-chan." Though she had the dialogue of sounding sad, she still wore her smile and she had a chipper tone.

"Yeah..." He looked down to the blond girl. "...Something came up."

"Hmm? Something?" The young girl's head tilted with a questioning look on her face. "Care to explain to your loving friend?" She asked, patting the opening space on the bench next to her right.

"Yeah..." Mist spoke awkwardly, taking the seat next to her as her eyes followed him. He began to situate himself on the bench, shifting just a bit to be sure he wouldn't enter her personal space, though knowing her, she wouldn't notice, but if she did, she wouldn't care. Once he finished, he began to speak. "You know the woman I'm staying with?"

The girl nodded, staring to him with her blue eyes. "You mean that Asha woman?"

Mist nodded. "Yeah..." His brow then raised at hearing her fully. "Well, its actually Asa, but we kind of got into it." Was his summation of what happened.

"Again?" She asked, letting a brief moment of silence surround them before she spoke. "You two seem to be an odd pair, ya know." Her eyes shifted and looked up to the sky with that carefree look that had seemed to remind Mist of his sister Maya. "If you two fight everyday, why do you stay with her?"

Mist shrugged his shoulder and followed her gaze to the setting sun.

"Remember when I told you my brother just left to be a Jonin of Konoha?" She asked and looked back to the right and at Mist, who looked straight back. "Well, his room is open, and my father and mother wouldn't care if you moved in." She informed, no hints of sounding romantic or intimate.

Mist heard her words and stared at her unwavering eyes. There hadn't been any indication of a innuendo through her words and he could tell. Crap, he would be nervous if something like that came from her mouth. In the time knowing her, he could tell that she wasn't nearly a romantic type of girl...she was the more of grabbing a sandwich and sleeping type.

His look slowly softened, contemplating leaving Asa to stay with Kaiya. "That abomination isn't half bad..." His head shifted and looked away from the girl. "Aya, she is just a abomination."

"And you like staying with a abomination?" Kaiya asked.

"...I couldn't say that."

"Yes, you could!"

WHAM

**End**

So, how was it?


	3. Prologue Pt 3

Only a few characters in this will use traditional Japanese honorifics, while other won't.

**"If I'm gonna tell a real story, I'm gonna start with my name."** -Kendrick Lamar

**The Route to Enlightenment**

**Prologue**

"Oh my..." A woman, owner of a flower shop across from the Dango shop, was leaned over, looking to the face of a boy who had been launched through the front of the shop and smashed into the counter creating a indentation with planks of wood scattered. Flowers, flower pots, and various seeds were sprawled all around the store due to the effect of the boy flying through the front of the shop. "Are you okay?" She asked, a sweet tone drifting into his ears.

Though his eyes were open, they were dull and lifeless, just staring forward to ignore her.

"Hmmm..." The woman let out a concerned hum seeing as the boy did not respond to her. Her head cocked over to the left in confusion. Was it her, or did she recognize this boy from something? It was a fact that she had saw him around the village on numerous occasions, but recalling of this dark skinned boy had dwelled from information. "Is this him?" He had an exotic look and a weird aura about him.

The sound of a foot coming down on debris was then heard as Asa stepped through the hole Mist's body had made from her ever so powerful punch to the back of his skull. The girl, Kaiya, had followed behind Asa with an eye closed smile and her hands held together behind her back. "That's Mist...if you were wondering." The older woman spoke as she watched the woman, leaning over Mist, turn her head to her, acknowledging that they were in the vicinity. "He suppose to be my pupil as of today..." Her words caught the attention of the girl behind her.

The woman leaning over Mist had straightened her body and turned to the two females in the centre of the hole, though they didn't wait for an invitation to come on in. "Pupil?" The woman inquired, eyes searching her body and found the Ninja supply around her body not a second later. "You're a Shinobi of Konoha, am I right?"

Asa flipped the bang framing the right of her face with a smile. "You'd be just a bit off. " She said, causing the woman's brow to raise.

"Why do you say that?"

"'Cause she's old and had to retire."

Asa nodded her head in agreement with her eyes closed, agreeing with the voice that decided to chimed in. "Yep, because I'm old an-" A grunt then escaped her mouth, hearing what she had actually began to say. Her eyes had opened with a blank look and she spun around to the messy blond haired girl, and yelled, "How about you stop listening to Mist" with a vein about to pop on her forehead.

"Okaaaay." Kaiya, nicknamed Aya by Mist, cheered in a very chipper tone wuth her eyes shut closed. Though her eyes were closed, her head was lifted up to Asa.

Asa had seemed to visually calm as she stood up straight and put her hands on her hips. This girl wasn't the sharpest knife in the cupboard, though she delicately made up for it with her cuteness. In actuality, she had little patience for those who couldn't follow directions and made trouble wherever they went to. But...Mist had seemed to enjoy her, so she could attempt to like this girl. "Really, Oshiro-san, you need to watch your words and stop repeating Mist." She sighed, having a weird feeling of her being this motherly if she ever had a child. Mist had been somewhat like a son to her, so if he stayed around longer, maybe he could be like a older brother to an infant she would birth...maybe.

But Mist wasn't the best role model. Don't get him wrong: he is very intelligent and capable of becoming a Shinobi of the Leaf in less than two months, but he never could see eye to eye with her. When she tells him to go left, he goes right. When she tells him to get AN apple, he says how many.

Kaiya pouted with her lips puckered. "Watcha mean by that?" She questioned, rhetorically. "I don't always listen to Misty."

"Then where did you get the idea that I'm old?" She asked, staring down at the girl blankly with a clue on the exact source where she had got that idea from.

Kaiya had then gasped silently and let her eyes wander. "Umm..." She began as she grew a thoughtful look. Okay, it was a fact that she got the intelligence on the woman from Mist, and he always had something good to tell her, so she usually listened. "Ah!" Her right index finger lifted as her eyes brightened. "Mist told me."

Asa just stared to her with stoic eyes. 'She really isn't too bright.' She came to this conclusion. Her head only shook inwardly as her facial expression changed in a smile. "Well, your poor attempt to remain discreet has come to a adrupt end,"

Kaiya's head sunk at hearing this come from the woman's mouth.

Asa lifted her right hand and pointed her thumb to Mist over her shoulder. "So, wake the runt up so that I can knock him unconscious for the third time today." She ordered the girl, crackling her knuckles.

"Wait,"

At hearing this, Kaiya looked passed Asa as the woman turned her head and looked over her shoulder to the female owner.

The woman eyed the females, though she was staring directly at the Ninja. "Who is this boy?" She asked, pointing down to the right.

Asa blinked a few times, confusion written in her expression. Guess she was as remedial as Kaiya. "As I said before," She started, turning toward the woman with her arms crossed. "That's Mist."

The flower woman's eyes narrowed at Asa, which caused her to be prepared.

Asa lifted her right hand and let it droop with her other hand on her hip as a blank look on her face. This woman had a weird look. The demeanor she held was between a trained Shinobi and a simple civilian, though she tried to conceal it. Her guard had to be up around this woman in the case that she was a sleeper. "Or you could ask him yourself..."

At that, the woman heard shuffling to the right if her and her head twisted in that direction to see the dark skinned boy with the weird hairstyle push himself to his feet with a hand to his knee. "M-Mistiltien...?" Her eyes were a bit wide as she watch the boy begin to stand. Her voice leaked pure astonishment at what she was witnessing.

'Mistiltien...?' Both Asa and Kaiya thought, simultaneously.

Mist stood up to his fullest height, dreads shadowing his eyes. He had an ominous aura around him, filling the atmosphere that surrounded all four of them. "My names Mist..." He shook his head and turned it to the left and stared at the woman standing about two feet away from him. This woman was a new individual standing about the same height as him, which is five foot nine inches, with cartoonish beach blond hair that fell over both her shoulder in the form of drills having her bangs over her forehead shifted to the left showing her forehead. He could see that her eyes were teal with very defined eyelashes and small lips with peach lip gloss. She also wore a black long dress with no sleeves and only straps revealing her pale arms and skin.

Mist scoffed. "Wherever you got that name from, you got the wrong guy here." He spoke in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Hmm..." The woman gave out a soft hum and let her eyes lower. It wasn't in disappointment, but in slight suspicion. This boy was good a hiding the truth, but she work with intelligence and deceit like it was no tomorrow. "I'm just..." She sighed. "You look like someone I knew before."

"Well, you got the wrong person," His left index finger ended up in her face. "So get those orbs fixed, because I haven't looked like anyone, not even my parents."

"Oh, really...?" The woman's eyes narrowed at the boy in interest, moving his hand out her face with her right hand. "Not even your parents, huh?" She inquired.

Mist's arm cranked back at how awkward the moment had become. "Uh, huh..." His brows were raised. Then there was a moment of silence: Mist and the woman just staring at one another in complete silence. This made him feel just a bit wary about the woman. She had become a bit too interested in his life...or past life in this tense. "...is there something wrong?"

"In which way do you mean?"

Mist taken back. She answered a question with another question! When was that ever a good sign when meeting someone new...and strange. "Well...you're really frea- ah!" He suddenly gasped as his body was propelled forward with his left hand in the lead being dragged along by Asa, who darted out of the hole in the store. Though she ran just a bit quicker than him, he was able to keep his footing without falling.

The woman watched the back of the boy and as he disappeared out of the shop. She grew a smirk in satisfaction remembering her mission she had been assigned in this village. It took some time for him to be acknowledged as the one she had been looking for, but it was finally time. Red eyed and dark skin...it wasn't too many with traits like this, so she would take her chance and attempt to capture him. Hopefully she could do it without Asa, that retired Anbu captain, getting involved.

"Watcha thinking about, Starie?"

"Huh?" The woman's exotic eyes shifted a bit to the left to see that messy blond haired girl. "Why are you still here?" She asked, pointing her right index finger out the hole in the front of her store. "I'd like it if you'd leave."

Kaiya nodded her head as her hair bounced. "Okay." She said, but instead used the door that was the primary entrance into the shop making a bell ring.

The woman then sighed at the girl's actions. She totally contradicted the hole in the front of the store. Her friends had made it so she should've used it with no second thought, right?

**(Break)**

"What the hell are we running for?" Mist yelled, being pulled down the road by the woman who that it would be smart to go into a full blown sprint to nowhere in particular.

Asa merely stayed quiet, ignoring the boy that didn't measure out the danger he could be placed in at the moment. That woman from before could be dangerous, and she surely did have a aura about her that said she was. Though Mist probably didn't care, her first and utmost important task was to keep him outta harms way until he was properly trained in the way of the ninja and could defend himself from a foe. She would've never thought anyone in this village would be interested in Mist due to the fact that he had no type of Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Fuinjutsu, or Taijutsu that could be useful.

At this, Mist brows furrowed at the woman paying no attention to him. "Don't ignore me!" He growled under his breath, though he continued to run at the same pace as the woman, suprisingly. Why in God's name was she ignoring him as if she didn't just run out of that store. The scene of her running down the road caused plenty of the villagers to look in disbelief and at the dust cloud being left behind. The boy shook his head and bit down to grit his teeth. "Don't play the quiet role now, you abomination!"

Though she heard his words, she simply turned to the left and continue her sprint down an alley then she cut to the right to return their dash to the dirt road. This caught the attention of more villagers and most gasped at the sight.

A vein bulged in the middle of his forehead as his teeth had then gritted even more in pure irritation, nearly on the verge of the cracking under the sheer pressure. "Why aren't you talking to me!" He yelled, anger slowly filling him. He stared at the back of the woman's head, waiting for an answer, something to get him to calm down, but it had never come. And this simply filled the canteen of of absolute choler. "Moth-"

"Shut the hell up."

Mist bit back his words as the woman finally spoke.

Asa stayed looking forward down the road as she never had the intention of stopping for anyone or anything. "Knowing you didn't pick up on it, but that woman had a bad stench about her." Her eyes softened a bit, and Mist's eyes grew wide slowly at her words.

"A bad stench?" Mist repeated the woman's words. "What do you mean?"

She let out a deep and detestable groan. Without saying anything else, Asa sped up down the road, which seemed to catch Mist off guard and made his head whip back violently, letting his feet lift off the ground as the woman was now literally dragging him through the air by his hand.

Mist had his left eye closed from the wind resistance being through at his body. "W-what's wrong with you!" He stammered out.

Quickly, a sword was swung downward.

That was when Asa's Shinobi instincts had kicked in like a freight train colliding with a human body. Without any regard to her own personal health, she yanked her right hand, that held Mist's right, forward and threw Mist out of harm's way, letting the sharp blade cut her back.

After she had tossed Mist, the boy rolled on the dirt with multiple grunts and groans. As his body seemed to calm from the toss, he skidded on the dirt being on his right side. Once he came to a complete stop, his eyes slowly creaked opened and he let out a soft sigh a he pushed himself up with his left hand as he mumbled about idiotic abominations. When he was up just a bit, he was about to push himself up to his feet with both his hand until he was on both his feet. Using his hand, he dusted himself off as his head raised, but he suddenly paused once he looked forward and saw a long gash cutting through Asa's wifebeater on her back. He gasped as a flash of Asa tossing him forward came to his mind showing a sword coming down on him, though it had hit Asa.

Asa stood there, a few feet ahead of Mist with a battle ready stance, showing that the gash on her back didn't mean a thing to her. Her eyes were stern, staring forward to a woman a bit shorter than her with silver hair and a long sword in her right hand. There was no mistaking that this was the woman from the shop. "Mikoto-san..." She spoke out to the woma, who let a smile cross her face as she spoke. "...the Wheat village's Yamanaka..."

The woman nodded to Asa, a small smile on her face. "Uh-huh." She confirmed with the short hum. "If you haven't noticed by now, that is a false moniker used to conceal my identity." Was her mere correction, holding the blade down to her side as her eyes had faded to a lavender-pink color and her hair shifted from blond to a oynx black.

Asa let her eyes narrow at the woman in suspicion. "Then who are you truly?" She inquired, slipping her left hand to the back of her waist and over her left buttocks where her pouch was located. It wouldn't take a genius to tell that a fight of sorts was about to break out, so she decided to ready herself before the woman could slice her through the middle.

The woman who had been dubbed as Mikoto raised her right hand, which wielded the sword, and had it hang just a bit. She let a sigh out and linger into her words. "Why do you take me for some type of novice fool?" Was her question, though her voice told Asa that this was a question she should answer. She lifted her left hand and flipped the drill style hair behind her shoulder. "If I actually told you who I am, then where would that leave me?"

"I don't know..." Asa replied, voice a bit shaken due to the presence of the villager, who merely watched the two of the speak as if they were close friends.

"It'll leave me looking stupid." She answered her own question. A calming breath was then let out as her eyes closed in a look of content. "But besides that," She straightened her right arm and pointed the guardless blade at the woman ahead of her, though her aim had soon strayed from her and just a bit to the right at the dark skinned boy standing a few feet behind her with a stupefied look across his face. Surprisingly, Asa had shifted to her left to block her vision of Mist. "Huh?" She blinked a few times.

"Don't ever do that again." Asa ordered the woman, glaring directly at her with a new form of fire that had suddenly lit inside of her.

Mikoto blinked again in utter confusion, though it didn't take too long for a smirk in understanding to cross her face. "Oh," She stepped to her left to get a better view of Mist and pointed the sword at him. "You mean this?"

Asa slid over to the right to hide Mist behind her. "What the hell did I just tell you!" She yelled, flinging her left hand forward sending out three Shuriken from her pouch and used her right hand to go into her Kunai case on her thigh and tossed out three of them also.

Seeing this much, the villagers knew their place and hurriedly began to clear the area.

As the Shuriken and Kunai flew toward her, Mikoto swiped her arm through the air in front of her three times to redirect the Shuriken, then she continued to swipe as two of the Kunai edge closer, but they got the same verdict. Her eyes raised a bit at the next sight in front of her: that brown haired woman had sprinted after the third and final Kunai and took it from out the air with her right hand, but the ninja tool was in reverse grip. "How keen." She lifted her blade and held it so that the tip would be pointed diagonally left. Her left hand lifted and she placed it behind the upper part of the blade.

Asa swiped the Kunai over to the left, closing in on the woman ahead of her so that they had then clashed with the sound of metal hitting metal. It was unlady like of her, but she growl as sparks came from their colliding blades. She glared into the eyes of the woman and she did the same to her. "I'll make you pay for what you did."

"You mean poin-ahh!" Before she could finish, she had been pushed back as her feet slid on the dirt. Mikoto shook her head and watched as the woman shot back at her without wasting any time. "Okay," She lifted her right hand in the air. "If you want some, then I'll give it to you and take Mistiltien after I kill you." she brought her arm down quickly and it slice right through the woman's left shoulder, but it got stuck halfway through.

Mist stood there in his spot, still perturbed about the situation. What significance did he have in this world that would make people come after him?

*Poof* "What the-" Suddenly, the woman had turned into a thick piece of a log with her blade stuck in the top. Before she could think about it, she leaned forward and ducked under a high kick aimed for her head from behind. At the same time she forced herself to lean forward, she slice through the wood and tightened her grip on the handle and shifted her body so that she spun in a clockwise fashion, dragging her blade at a mid-level height.

Planting her right foot back onto the ground, Asa used the Kunai in her right hand to apprehend the blade, creating sparks once again. She gripped the handle of the Kunai tighter as it started to glow an emerald green color. "Wind Gale Cutter!" She announced, cutting straight through the blade and sending a out a green banana arch cut through the air that destroyed a few house and/or stores in its wake.

Mist flinched greatly at the buildings being destroyed like swatting a fly. "Argh...damn!"

Mikoto's eyes widened. "What?"

Asa then threw her left leg through the air to the right and at the other woman's hand, kicking it to get the rest of the blade out of her hand and across the village. Not breaking a sweat, she slowly spun in a counterclockwise fashion and lifted her right leg and sent a reverse heel kick to the left side of the woman's head.

Mikoto's eyes were wide, staring out the corner of her as the foot closed in on her fast. In that next second, she had been sent sprawling across the dirt road hitting the ground a few times until she smashed into a building.

Asa settled and let her leg touch back down on the ground. She blew out a breath to calm herself down as the building had then fell on top of the woman she had been fighting and it kicked up a lot of dust. Her left hand lifted and she hid her face as her hair blew frantically. Raising her head, she saw Mist looking at her with those stern eyes, but they looked just a bit different.

Mist took a step forward. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked, a bit of concern in his voice. "I tho-"

"Don't come any closer!" Her hand was lifted to stop Mist from coming any closer. He was over forty feet away from her, so the distance made a brow raise. Asa's eyes shifted over to the right and to the building. "This isn't over yet." After saying this, some of the wood that had collapsed had shifted as someone flew into the air.

"Katon!"

Asa lifted her head and saw that woman soaring down directly at her with her cheeks puffed up.

"Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Mikoto opened her mouth and blew out a barrage of miniature fire balls that measure out to one to two thousand.

Asa studied the intent of the Jutsu and waited a bit so that she could time it correctly. In a blink of an eye, she had flashed away and reappeared a few feet to the left as the first fire ball hit the dirt and instantly dispersed. She did it once again and reappeared a few feet behind her previous location and continued this routine for awhile; dodging the flaming balls. As she did this, her brown hair flowed and her brown eyes were half lidded as if she didn't care.

"Hmph." Mikoto huffed as she began to front flip. "Let's see if you can dodge this." Once she finished her sentence, her left leg was aimed to hit Asa on the top of her dome.

At the last second, Asa took a slow and gentle step back as the woman's foot soared straight passed her nose in slo-mo.

The first foot to touchdown on the ground was Mikoto's right and she used this to spin around in a counterclockwise way dragging along her left leg's heel.

Once the woman's foot had edged closer, Asa lifted her left foot and shifted it back so that she could lean back as the foot shot right passed her nose again.

Continuing with her spin, the woman brought the heel of her left leg back around, but it was lowered to trip her left leg up.

"Is this the best you can do?" Asa questioned all while she took a small leap over the leg.

A chuckle was then heard. "I know you wish that." She informed as her left leg slid and it prompt her for the opportunity to lift her right leg and send it high to her head, which connected with enough force to flip the woman so that she was upside down.

"Ah!" Asa gasped as she ended upside down in the air. The kick had packed enough of a punch to do this much to her, so it had her wondering about this woman.

Adruptly, Mikoto put her foot back to the ground as her left hand went up to her mouth with only two of her finger extended and he cheeks puffed up. "Katon: Great Fire Ball Jutsu!" At that, she began to spew of flames that formed into a large ball that was the size of a face on the Hokage's monument in the Leaf. The ball of fire had been launched at Asa and it was sent deeper down the road as it exploded with an earth shaking vibration. That explosion had been enough to take out four rows of buildings and left dust in its wake.

Mist eyes were wide at this moment. Asa was a lot stronger than this! Something like that wouldn't be enough to kill that stubborn abomination. A wave if emotion had suddenly washed over him with no warning at all. His eyes had shifted down along with his head to look down at his hands and at the strange thing it was doing. 'Trembling...is that really me?' He questioned inwardly. Was these feelings coming from seeing what that woman had did to Asa? No! It couldn't be...He didn't have no feelings for that abomination. It was true that he liked her... He shook his head in a hesitant way with his eyes impossibly wide.

If he liked her, then that would mean he had feelings for the woman, but now she was gone.

"Are you ready, Mistiltien?"

His head lifted to see the woman had closed in on him to be about ten or thirteen feet away from him. "D-don't...don't call me that." He took a single step back, eyes unable to land on her.

The woman began to walk forward to unnerved Mist with an eye closed smile that seemed to frighten him to his core. "Then what shall I call you if not Mistiltien?" She asked, scaring the boy.

"Quit saying that name." His footsteps backwards had increased as she closed in on him. He didn't like this at all. Not this woman walking toward him, but the emotions that were clouding him. It was like losing someone- someone like his mother. Reaching this conclusion, his despondent emotions had began to mix with a feeling of rage. His brows knitted and his eyes had settled and turned to a feature of absolute anger. Both his fist clinched as he felt a strange energy rise in him as the screla of his eyes had faded to blood red that matched his iris. The dreadlocks on his head began to sway as a droplet of blood leaked from his right eye.

Mikoto had her eyes widen at what she was witnessing. His chakra...it was visible, wild, and red! Her eyes continued to widen. What the hell was this boy? She hadn't any real details on who he was, but his name. He was a monster in human skin! And that man knew this! He deliberately sent her on this assignment to capture this boy, but it had now seemed like a mere test now and she was the toy to test the test subject.

**"Nejiton: Linger." **Mist spoke, a dark and malevolent tone coming from his mouth.

At these words, a three dimensional orb had covered up her shoulder like shoulder guards. Her eyes shifted from left and right with a brow raised in confusion. They were pitch black.

**"Nejiton: Open."**

And at that, the seemingly harmless orbs had grew a white glow with a white universe like image had appeared in the orb as her body had then began to strain right down her center. The black dress she began to waver as most of it began to rip and get sucked into the orbs. Quickly getting the gist of what was about to occur and her eyes widened.

Nothing changed: his eyes still held the same anger and all out animosity toward the woman. She had began to scream loudly as he watched her body begin to come apart from the middle up and down. He never wavered...it was as if someone had taken control over Mist and just wanted to see this woman gone. After a few seconds, a sickening tear was heard and the screaming had ceased. His eyes never changed even with that woman being gone, , it was as if that wasn't enough to calm him down for what she had did to Asa. Opening his mouth, he began to speak, **"That's what you," **but as he spoke his eyes had lowered and the screla had faded back to pearly white. **"get..."** As he finished, his body tipped forward, falling into a unconscious state. Once he had went unconscious, the orbs he had conjured up had poofed away in a few black sparkles.

But, instead of hitting the ground, he had fell into a living being, one that would make even Mist smile at seeing. There, standing holding his head against her chest was Asa, though she had a few scares and her scarf had seemed to be burnt off by that explosion that had occurred before. Her eyes were soft, hugging Mist into her chest with here right hand on the back of his head, fingers digging into his dreads and her left hand on his upper back. Sad eyes of her's looked down on the boy. "Hmmm, you seem pretty cute- I mean, handsome when you're like this." She said to no one in particular. "Whatever you did, it seemed to tucker you out...but you should be getting a lot of sleep now." A smile slowly crossed her face. "Look at me, I sound like a mother right now." Though she never had any aspirations to be a mother, this did make her nervous at the moment. And usually, she would break off and try to get out of the conversation when ever she could.

But not this time...this time, she frankly liked how it felt.

**(Break)**

"Hey, Mistiltien,"

A dark skin boy with short and wild dreads, wearing a school uniform that consisted of a blueberry blue short sleeved collared shirt with black slack, had been taking a leisure stroll around the school when a girl happened to call out to him. His head shifted to show a boy about thirteen or fourteen years old with a youthful face and deep blood red eye. He looked over his right shoulder to see a girl, just a bit shorter than he already was with dark skin that matched his and dark hair that fell to her lower back. Her eyes didn't match his though, they were a soft brown. She wore a uniform with a red sweater vest and a white collared short sleeve shirt under and a long black skirt that fell down to her knees.

"Huh, what do you want, Aya?" Mistiltien asked, blinking once to show his confusion.

"You know exactly what I want, Big Brother." She stomped her foot to show the irritation she apparently held to her dubbed 'Big Brother'. "You took my phone again-"

"You're twelve,"

This caused Aya to gasp at him cutting her off.

"You really have no need for it." Mistiltien spoke turning his head forward. "I know there's creepy people around, but in the day and age you can't use your voice, then I don't know where our generation is headed."

Aya's cheeks puffed up at his words in a pout. "You're graduating tomorrow-"

"So you expect me to be a bit more lenient?" He questioned her, and it seemed that she was at a lost for words...if that look of bewilderment didn't explain it. "If you don't need me for anything else, then go back to school," The boy began to walk off. "I'll give 'em a call and a excuse on why you left school."

Aya, actual name Maya, looked on as her older brother walked away without a second glance. Her eyes began to tear up as, "I hate you, Mist," left her mouth.

Those words...they still in his head. Though it was some time ago, the bachelor couldn't forget them, it was hard to. His little sister telling him she hated him was enough to get him to give up on living, but he didn't. He didn't know if she knew he heard her, or if she said it because she thought he didn't. Sadly, he did, and ever since that day, he had showed a bit more lenience to her and let her keep her phone all the time. He just wanted to hear Maya tell him she loved him again and he heard on billions of occasions. Nevertheless, it just seemed that the one time she said "I hate you" would somehow over power the times she said "I love you". He should've told Maya that he was sorry for doing that.

"Mist! Mist! Mist!"

Said boy's eyes snapped opened to Asa on her knees in from of him in between his legs that had seemed to be spaced out. After his quick second of analyzing this, he figure out that he was sitting on his butt in the dirt leaning against something. Then his eyelids almost ripped when he realized who was I. front of him and he shot toward her and embrace her in a tight hug.

Asa eyes were wide at him doing this. Never was he ever this affectionate with her in the whole time she had knew him. He was a bit more withdrawn than what he was letting on. His arms were wrapped around her neck and this affection he showed her only made her facial expression softened and a smile crossed her face. "Thank you, Mist." She said, wrapping her arms around him.

Mist simply stayed quiet until he just realized something. At the remembrance, he pushed her of him as he pointed to her dramatically.

Asa fell to her butt and stared a Mist in confusion. "Yeah...there's the guy I remember..."

"Shut up!" He yelled, which caused her brow to raise. "I...I thought you were...gone."

Asa gave boy sitting in front if her a wink and a smile. "You think that could've kill me?" She huffed and turned her head away from him. "Well, at least I got a better perspective on how strong you think I am..."

"Hehe."

Asa blinked a few times at Mist. Did he just laugh? No, it more of a chuckle, but it was still groundbreaking for him to be doing. Shit. The boy had showed her in under a minute that he actually had emotions. And he wasn't just given her that catatonic stare.

"What?"

Mist spotted the woman staring at him and she turned her head quickly as his eyes met her for that hot second.

Mist saw this as weird, but only brushed it off like it was nothing. His eyes scanned around the area in a bit of curiosity. Once again, he was deep in the woods, but this time was dark, just a bit of the moon cracking through the gaps of the leaves over him and her. "So, where are we?" He asked, letting his eyes look with her's due to her looking up to him once he spoke. This curiosity came from the fact of where he was going with this back pack to the left of him.

"Oh..." She looked around also. "We're just about two hour out of Konoha." She said, pushing of her knees with a feminine moan as she got to her feet and dusted herself off.

Mist eyes widened just a bit. "The Leaf?" He questioned, voice showing how skeptical he was about the information. "Why are we going there?"

"To get you away from the Wheat." She answered the still skeptical boy. "With the latest endeavor, I fail see why it isn't a good idea to move you." Mist simply stayed silent as he stared at the woman. "That woman wasn't the last of the people who wants you, and me by myself won't be enough to protect you if they send more and stronger Shinobi."

With a brief pause, Mist nodded to the woman. He couldn't have a negative opinion about her decision, because it was to keep him safe. So if moving to Konoha was the next best thing, then he would go. He just worried about Kaiya and her being back in the Wheat. But then a gasped escaped his lips when a pale skinned hand was pushed in front on him and it caused him to look up and at the woman smiling down to him.

"Don't think about it." Asa began to reassure the boy. "I'll make sure that blond will be okay."

Before he could get up and believe her completely, Mist had one question to ask her. "How can I believe you?" He asked, but he knew the woman who claimed to be his guardian wouldn't understand the actually meaning he hid from her. Slowly, he lifted his right hand.

Asa smiled to him, taking his hand in her right hand as she pulled him up. "Sadly, I won't be staying in Konoha with you." She told the boy as he got to his full height with a understanding nod. "I need to stay back in the Wheat to investigate why that woman attacked," She shrugged. "So why not kill two birds with one stone; I'll keep the girl safe." At this, she gave the boy a thumbs up.

Just a bit, the boy had been saddened at the fact that he wouldn't be staying with Asa anymore, but he successfully hid it with his blank face. "Yeah..." He went down to his left and picked up the black backpack by the strap and threw it over his shoulder. "I understand."

"I set up your living arrangements and I'll return to the village everyday at noon for your training, okay?" She asked, as she then turned to the left and began to walk back toward Konoha.

"Yeah." Mist nodded and followed suit with Asa. He didn't expect any less from the woman, so he guessed she would be able to make it to the Leaf everyday. And she wouldn't have him to slow her down so she could shorten the trip to the Leaf. "But can I ask you a question?" He asked as he walked on the left of the woman, looking forward down the dark road.

"Go ahead." Asa said to him as she looked out the corner of her eyes down to the boy, walking in pace with him.

"Well..." He blinked, but when he opened his eyes, they were darted up to the right. "Did you carry me?"

Asa nodded to the boy with a smile across her face. "Its not a big deal, kid." She informed him, waving the boy off like it wasn't nothing. "You're not that heavy anyways."

Mist gave a curt nod. "Oh...okay..." He paused, eyes shifting to his right at her, but had quickly cut back to the space in front of him. "And one more thing..." This caused her to hum. "What happened to that woman-" As he said this, Asa's eyes darted over to him in skepticism. "Everything's kind of blurry..."

Asa eyes had widened at hearing this. Did he not remember what had occurred earlier? Him saying this only made her think 'Was he even in control over his body when he did that'. If he wasn't she was kinda glad Mist hadn't witnessed what Shinobi usually go through every single day. As she walked, she shook her head. "After that fire ball, I attempted to subdue her, but she had escaped." She lied.

"Oh..." Mist nodded as he took in everything Asa had relayed onto him. He lifted his right hand and tugged on the strap of the backpack with his left hand. It clinched. "So that means she might be back..." Asa's eyes shifted over to him again. "I'm glad I'm going to become stronger."

She didn't want to lie to Mist, she swear, but she didn't know how he would take the information about him tearing someone apart like a twin ice cream stick. Her eyes slowly lowered. "Yeah..."

At hearing her words, Mist hummed silently and suspiciously.

"But..." Her head lifted and turned to him. "Now's my question for you."

Mist simply shrugged.

Asa smiled once again and nodded. "Earlier, you became really defensive when that woman called you Mistilstien." She spoke as the boy simply continued to walk forward. "I know you told her, and literally me, that it wasn't your name, but I guess I kinda question you because it did seem to hurt you when she called you this."

"Oh..." Mist let his eyes lower a bit as his brain began to conjure up another lie he would live on in this world, but it seemed to not work. No matter how much he wanted to just make up another lie, his brain just didn't want to seem to function at the moment, so that meant he would have to speak. His mouth opened as he then began, but he swallowed a knot in his throat. "I don't have too much of a memory on my birth, but who does nowadays?" He let a short chuckle escape his lip. "But, I was always told my grandmother gave me this name in a link to the word Mistletoe, though Mistiltien has a more significant meaning that my grandmother saw fit for me. She said I held the essence of being a true wielder of the name Mistiltien. Able to brighten even the dimmest hearts, someone true to themselves and a true savior." He chuckles a bit. "Stuff like that, its kind of hard for me to believe like the zodiac signs. I only believe in logic and this isn't." he continued. "If you want to start calling me this, I won't mind."

Asa suddenly stepped in front of the boy, facing him. Suddenly, she leaned over, gently shifting apart his soft dreads, and kissed his forehead.

Mist brows were raised a bit.

She pulled herself up and smiled down at the boy. "Well, I think its cute." She spun herself back around and continued her walk. "Next stop: Konohagakure."

Mist nodded and followed her. "let's go then." As the boy walked in sync with the taller woman, he began to trample through his memories about the events earlier in the day. It was still pretty shocking, to say the least. No matter how hard though, he couldn't dive deeper into the events that happened when everything got hazy. But him diving into his memory prompted him to ask, "Do you want to be a mother?"

At this, Asa had stopped dead in her tracks and paled at the question.

**(Break)**

The sun was up over The Village Hidden in The Leave. The day was quite boisterous as usual and the villager seemed to be in absolute tranquility. Though, with the knowledge of their village being attacked at any given moment did make them feel a bit unnerved. People around did shopping, Shinobi left and also returned from mission and children were usually children about this time.

But, at this moment, the focus was at the front gates of the large village.

A sigh was then heard. "I thought they should've been here by now." A man with long black and spiky hair spoke. He was a man in his mid-twenties with a bandage over his nose and across the middle of his face.

Another man sat to his right in the booth with him. He was a man about the same age with brown hair combed down to hide his right eye. "Yeah, Lady Tsunade told us they'd be here early sunrise, so why aren't they here?"

The first male shrugged. "I don't know." He said. "But do you really think this is a good idea?"

"You mean bringing that kid here, Kotetsu?" The man asked, looking over to his left.

The man dubbed as Kotetsu nodded at his partner. "It may be like having another Jinchuriki in Konoha, ya know." He continued. "If people are after this kid, then we must be ready for a attack."

"Agreed..." The other Shinobi replied. "But Lady Tsunade isn't a fool." He informed. "She probably planned for that already."

Kotetsu hummed and rested his hand on his palm. "Yeah..."

"I still think it's sweet."

Both the Shinobi sitting in the booth looked over to the right and saw Asa, one they recognized, walking into the gate with a shorter boy with dark skin and a weird hairstyle. They didn't recognize the boy, but they just that this was the Mist boy that had visited Konoha some time ago on a mission with Asa. They hadn't met him that time.

"Will you quit bringing it up." Asa begged, a slight embarrassed blush on her face at a conversation her and Mist had during their walk. Her eyes fluttered a bit knowing that Mist had her under his thumb now. As for embarrassing things, this had taken the cake.

With the backpack fully on his back now, Mist folded his arms over his chest with his mouth in a straight line and his red eyes closed. "You know, I could," He nodded and she nodded along with him in a hopeful manner. "But its a bit too entertaining to not bring up."

"YOU KNOW your expression never matches you words." Asa spoke as she poked his face as they walked.

"It doesn't need to change, because you think of yourself as my mother."

Before he could finish, Asa had her hands over her ear to block out the noise that came from his mouth. It was just noise. Her eyes were also squeezed closed. But she still heard the boy. His words were as clear as a crystal. He arms slumped down and hung as a groan left her mouth in irritation. "Awwww...Mistiltien..." Slowly straightened and her eyes opened as her mouth open, but closed back as they walked passed a booth with two Shinobi sitting within, waving at her and Mist. She waved back to them. "Hey, Izumo, Kotetsu!"

"It's about time you made it in." Kotetsu joked with her. "Just go straight to Lady Tsunade, she has the item you requested."

Asa gave them a thumbs up and continued to walk forward. "Thank!"

As they continued onward, Mist looked up to the right and at the woman. "Who were they?" He inquired.

"Some old teammates of mine." Was her simple answer as her eyes started to shift around in curiosity.

Mist hummed.

Asa then stopped having stop with her, but just a few steps ahead of her. Her head shifted left and right in search of someone that they should've have been meeting right about now. Now that she thought about it, they were late.

"Kai-sama."

Asa and Mist looked up a someone then landed right in front of them. A smile cross Asa's face at seeing the girl in front of them. "Oh, sorry for being late." She scratched the back of her head in a sheepish way.

"Oh, no," The teenage girl shook her head, swinging her hair. "Don't be, Kai-sama." She said as her eyes gently shifted over to the left and to the boy just about a inch taller than her. "So, is this him?" She asked.

Asa nodded to the girl and lifted her hand up to the teenage girl. "Let me introduce you to the Hokage's Protege, Haruno Sakura." She said and the girl waved to Mist with a eye closed smile.

Mist nodded to the girl who looked to be about just his age. His eyes scanned her thoroughly to see she was a pretty cute girl with short pink hair, barely touching her shoulder and a part in the middle of her head. He noticed that her forehead was kinda large, but he didn't mention and just noticed her large emerald eyes and her fair skin. The girl wore a red type of top with a zipper and pale pink apron having black shorts under it including black gloves and black low heel, calf high boots and she also wore a red headband on top of her head with a metal plate having a leaf insignia.

**Chapter End**

**So, there it is, the third chapter if "Don't Sweat My Swag". Its been pretty fun writing this. I've been able to use a lotta techniques while doing this and I haven't lost my grove yet. It's a going to be more things to come up like the Chunin Exams and Mist becoming stronger.**

**One more thing, Nejiton is like my Japanese way of saying Distortion Release.**


	4. Prologue Pt 4

**The Route to Enlightenment**

**Prologue**

'Ugh...why can't I say anything?' Mist questioned himself within his own thoughts as he stared at the girl in front of him. He trampled through his thoughts on What his words should be and how they should come out of his mouth, but it seemed this pink haired looker only made his mouth stay closed. She had tilted her head to the left just a bit, which simply enhanced how cute this girl was. He was really making an absolute fool of himself. Never did a single human make him bite his words.

The pink haired girl labeled as Sakura tilted her head in bewilderment at the boy in front of her just staring. It didn't unnerve her, it simply made her wary. Lady Tsunade had relayed to her that this boy was of few words, though the words he would release would often be smart-alecky and sometimes insulting. 'Of few words, check...' She mentally tallied off the personal fault the boy had. Her mouth began to open as she began to speak, letting her eyes shift to the right of Mist and to Kai-sama, Mist's guardian. "Is something the matter?" She inquired, blinking a bit.

"Mmm-hmmm..." Asa had a large smile on her face, lifting her left hand and cocking it back. She then brought it forward to hit the boy's back and nudge him forward, and he stumbled a bit. "He's fine."

"Ugh." Mist grunted as he stepped forward a bit, though it wasn't on his will. He just cursed the brown haired Anbu Captain to the right of him. Right when he was about to tell her a little secret.

Sakura took a single step back at see the boy edge closer to her. Her brow was raised, her confusion rising even to greater heights now.

Mist noticed this as he read her face. Damn! She probably thought he was a freaking weirdo now! And if she didn't, she probably would think he didn't like her or something. Lifting his right hand, he moved it to the back of his head and scratched his dreads with a closed eye, sheepish laugh. "My name's Mist," He lowered his hand and nodded to her.

"She already knows your name, Smoothinton." Asa whispered to Mist as she leaned forward and said this into his right ear.

"Shut it." Mist snapped through a growl and silenced the woman. His eyes then locked back on with the green eyed girl watching his and Asa's interaction. He blinked a few times and cleared his throat. "I-"

"Whoooooooo!"

Before Mist could speak, he heard a loud cheer as something shot right passed him and straight into the village followed by another. His eyes were wide, because who ever or What ever it was had been moving at pretty impressive speeds to make them practically invisible the naked eye. As his dreads swayed a bit from the breeze that shot passed him, his eyes shifted to the right and saw Asa looking off into the distance through the village. His eyes had curved back in front of himself and saw the girl labelled as Sakura looking over her left shoulders and into the village. Well, it was probably only blind to his eyes.

"Lee, Guy-sensei,"

The group of three had heard this feminine yell and it caused their heads to turn over to the right, but Sakura head was turned to the left due to her position in front of Mist and Asa.

"Wait up."

Once the group of three locked on to the individual who had been leaning over, huffing in puffing with her hands on her knees. Mist eyed the girl with keen and stern eyes.

Sakura smiled as she saw the exhuasted girl. "Are you alright, Tenten?" The pink haired Konoichi asked, concern obvious in her sweet voice.

The new arrival heard Sakura speak to her and whipped her body up with a deep intake as her eyes shifted over to the left as her head and body followed to see a familiar individual. She let out the breath and began to breathe easily once again, letting a huff out as she placed her right hand on her hip. "Oh, hi, Sakura-chan..."

The girl, Sakura, smiled even more now. "They're at it again?" Though it came from her mouth as a question, it had been more of a statement.

The girl dubbed as Tenten nodded with a hopeless expression. "...Yeah..." She closed her eyes with a slight sigh. "And I got to deal with them by myself."

Sakura tilted her head to the left with a hum of absolute confusion. "What? Where's Neji-kun?"

Tenten hung and shook her head. "He's on a mission that required him and Hinata-chan to partake on." She answered her.

"...Oh...I'm so sorry to hear...that..." Sakura said, awkwardly. She had a sweat drop on her forehead, baring a unnerving eye closed smile on her face. In actuality, she couldn't understand what it could be like being apart of Team Guy, and, frankly, she was happy that she wouldn't know. Her eyes reopened and her hand then lifted to Mist. "Sorry, I didn't introduce-"

"Morning, Tenten." Asa spoke, her eyes closed.

Tenten's head began to turn to the left along with her body as she not only overlooked, Mist, but let her eyes land on Asa to give her a look of confusion. The young shinobi scratched the back of her head, looking toward the woman. "I don't think I know you..." Her eyes slowly shifted up to the woman's forehead to see the Konoha headband and then up to the Anbu mask resting just askew on the top her forehead. She stepped back at seeing this with a quick gasp as she then gave a low bow. "Sorry, Anbu-sama..."

"Anbu-sama?" Asa raised her brow as a smirk began to quirk at the corner of her lips. "Hmm...I haven't really heard that one before." She admitted.

"Huh?" Tenten lifted back up and looked at the older woman. "You're not really like those other Anbu Black Op guys." She realized, blinking her eyes just a few times. This kinda confused her to the point where she would question Lady Tsunade's leniency on her subordinates.

"Because I'm retired."She answered briefly. "You may call me Asa or Kai-sama if you want, I really don't mind."

Tenten tilted her head to the right. "Then why are you here, because I doubt you're staying in the village?" She questioned, knowing she hadn't seen this woman around the village at all.

Asa lifted her left hand, but then thought on what she was about to say. Yes, Tenten was a shinobi of the Leaf, but it was still was classified information. She had to keep half of the information on why Mist was moving here hidden. Though, she guessed Sakura already had been briefed on why Mist was now going to be living here in Konoha. "Oh, my son here," She dropped her hand on Mist head of dreads and ruffled them, digging her fingers into his hair. "He's to start his training here, so he'll be staying here for now on."

Mist's eyes darted up once the hand had touched his head and he let out a collective hum along with Sakura.

"You're son..." Tenten's eyes slowly shifted down and to the right as her eyes had landed on a boy...a cute dark skinned boy with hair in a rope like fashion that framed his face and fell to his shoulder with the hair falling over his forehead and to his eyebrows. When she focused a bit more, she could see the defined eyelashes that curved up with another eyelash on the outer lower corner of his eyes. A blush slowly creeped onto her face as she eyes scanned over his face. "Is cute..." And at that, everything had seemed to silence and the only thing heard was the sound of the wind blowing calmly with the trees swaying. She all three pair of eyes on her and this made the girl blush even more, taking a single step back as she shook her head and waved her hands. "No, that didn't- I mean, I said the wro..." For the first time, Tenten couldn't find the correct words to say.

Mist merely stared at this girl with his usual glare he gave people that said things they should keep to themselves. This girl he sent this glare to was about his age, just a bit shorter than he was with a slender build and fair skin. Her hair was brown and tied up in twin Chinese buns on either side of her head with fringed bangs falling over the left and right side of her forehead protector. He noticed the embarrassment in her soft, brown eyes and couldn't help but suck his teeth at it. Also, she sported a white long sleeved blouse with a high collar and red fastener and edges that was similar color as he red puffy pants with slits at the waist, though he could see bandages wrapped around her. He also noticed her brown, fingerless glove and a large scroll strapped to her back.

Tenten noticed the boy staring at her and she started to fidget in the same way as Hinata and her eyes became dazed looking. She pressed both her index fingers together as her head was aimed down and to the ground. 'He won't stop looking at me...' She grew a mental smile.

'What's wrong with her?' Mist questioned himself within his own thought. She was weird, nothing else could simplify it.

"Well," Asa started with a clap of her hands, which caused Tenten to snap out of it and all eyes go to the veteran of this group. "While you girls and guy catch up, I'll go on ahead and meet up with Tsunade-sama, okay?" She informed lifting up right index and middle finger to her face.

"Huh?" The three of them raised a brow.

"Good." At that, Asa gave them a wink and then vanished in a instant.

After she had left, Sakura looked at the two humans respectfully: Tenten first then Mist. Tenten, her fellow Konoha shinobi, had her head down and turned away in embarrassment, while Mist just had his head turned away with his eyes lowered. Damn, did she really have to be in the middle of this awkward moment?

**(Scene Change)**

"How do you plan on dealing with this?"

In Amegakure, a village covered by clouds that poured rain most hours of the day, a man sat up top a building looking down on the village with cold and stern eyes. To his left a woman covered in paper floated in the air next to him with paper wings.

"Soon, Konoha will have a Jinchuriki and a Jitsugetsu, how do you plan on taking both of them?" The woman asked, though the man remained quiet. "As relayed to us, that untrained boy was able to kill one of your pawns...his eyes are becoming stronger and stronger by the time he interacts with strong chakra."

The man simply continued to stare down at the village. "The upcoming Chunin Exams...I'll send someone with Genjutsu that can counter a Jitsugetsu. I plan on capturing that boy there."

**(Scene Change)**

Asa walked up stairs circling around a large red building that was the residence and office of the current Hokage of Konoha. The stairs led to the roof of the mansion and to the meeting point where she was told to meet the Lady Hokage at. A smile was across her face in joy that she would finally be retrieving the item she would give to Mistiltien, herself, today. It wasn't a happy thought, but during Mist's rest, she had contact Lady Tsunade and got her approval on the boy becoming a Genin of the Hidden Leaf. And she would watch over his training until or maybe after the Chunin Exams. Then a thought had come to mind: it was of Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki of Team Kakashi. It was wrong of her to keep her adding Mist to Team 7 away from her, but she knew Sakura wouldn't take it well, and she wanted to avoid causing a scene.

As much as a frown wanted to creep onto her face, it was constantly overthrown by her smile and her belief that Mist, no matter how stubborn he is, would make his mark in Team 7. But the main thing she worried about was that Naruto boy. She continuously heard about him and his bond with Sasuke and she worried about if Naruto would accept him in the Uchiha's place.

Nearing the top and pushing these thoughts to the back of her head, Asa noticed her distance from the top and decided to speak up. "Hokage-sama," She called out. "I'm coming up, okay?"

"You may, Asa-san." Came a voice from a mature, feminine voice that was heard from the roof.

With the approval, Asa nodded and proceeded on to the top and once she made it to the top, she stood on the roof and at a good distance from a woman ahead over her at the other edge of the roof, looking over the village. She took over ten steps forward until she closed the gap between them just a bit and went down on her left knee with her right hand on her other, having her head bowed. "I'm here, Hokage-sama."

For a few seconds after Asa's statement, everything had been quiet with only the sound off the soft and gentle breeze blowing. "I see..." The woman that had taken the moniker of Hokage had paused for about a second and spoke again as she continued to look over the village. "What could've have taken you so long?"

"Ah!" A gasped escaped her lips at the memory slowly resurfacing as a soft blush made it's way onto her face. Her eyes squeezed closed and she shook her head vigorously and opened them to look at the back of her leader. "It was nothing, Milady...just a minor inconvenience."

The blond haired, ponytail woman let her head cock over to the left to look over her shoulder and show an almond color iris and a fair skinned face with cherry colored lip gloss. "What type of inconvenience? Was it more important than your village you've taken thw oath to protect? Hmmm?" At hearing this, Asa's eyes widened and her head hung as a meek 'no' left the retired Captain's mouth. The blond haired woman then fully turned around to face her on and off subordinate with her larger than average breast bouncing and her hands on her hips. "Was this inconvenience more inportant than the lived you still need to protect?"

With her head still hung, Asa shook her head. "No."

"Or was it more inportant than keeping me protected?" She asked, almost making it a yell, but there was no immediate reply. The woman stomped her foot down after she didn't receive a answer and this caused the whole building to shake. "Answer me!"

"No, Hokage-sama." Asa finally answered her, a sweatdrop falling from her head and her eyes widened to the brink of them falling out.

"Okay, now that we got that settled," Tsunade reached into her green jacket with her left to her right side and when she retracted it, she held a long red cloth, which matched the color of Mist's hoodie and the cloth had a metal plate plastered to it which contain the insignia if a leaf on the front. "Stand up straight and take this to that boy."

"Huh?" Asa lifted her head and saw the red cloth heading right toward her. In a instant, she her right hand through the air and took the forehead protector right out of the air.

"But next time that boy comments on my age..." Tsunade punched her left hand into the palm of her right hand. "He'll learn the true meaning of pain."

Asa nodded, a smile present once again on her face. "Thank you, Hokage-sama." And with that, she vanished.

A few second after the woman had left, Tsunade stared at her spit with a thoughtful/serious expression on her face as she began to think to herself. "A Kekkei Genkai that wields both Genjutsu and a unique transformation..." She slowly closed her eyes. "...no wonder someone has targeted him already."

**(Break)**

Was it her, or was it these two people walking at her sides that made her feel uncomfortable. The area around her was very hostile, enough for someone to suffocate within. Her eyes, very cautiously and carefully, shifted from left to right every few minutes to see how they were doing. 'Their okay...?' She guessed. Tenten, to the left, was quiet, which was unlike her. A minor blush was still obvious on her cheeks and her eyes were lowered. Though the thing that confused her was Mist walking along with them to the right with a blank stare forward. It was more like he didn't care and Tenten's words never mattered to him, but she was a good reader of people and she could tell it was a bit embarrassing for him, too. They made a few stop in her attempt to liven the atmosphere, though they had seemed just dampen it even more.

Sakura eyes shifted to the left once more and eyed Tenten for a few second and contemplated having just a 'girl talk' with her and about how somethings you keep to yourself, especially around strangers. Slowly, her eyes cocked to the right and saw Mist walking with his shoulder length dreads swaying left to right. Maybe she would have to have a talk with him about showing proper manner to someone who give you a compliment. "Hey, so...Mist, right?" She asked, walking along the road in a market district in Konoha.

Mist eyes shifted to the left, but back forward instantly. His head nodded.

Acknowledging the nod, Sakura continued speaking. "I kinda know the bits and pieces about what caused your move to Konoha, no one gave me information on who you are, because you're starting to become a shinobi is pretty late?" She inquired, hoping to spark a conversation with him that could lighten the mood just a bit. The moment was still a bit damp, so if he chose not to answer, she wouldn't press.

Mist raised a brow at hearing this. "'Pretty late'?" He repeated, confused. "What age do anyone start training at anyways?" Was his brief answer.

"Young..." Sakura paused, eyes widened just a bit at him to guage his reaction, though he merely continued to walk. "...Maybe about six or seven years of age...sometimes younger than that."

Once again, Mist nodded to her with that blank look on his face. Softly, a chuckle escaped his lips. "I'm okay then..." And then he also paused, for him to hear that hum that escape Sakura's mouth.

"Hmm?" Sakura let out a questioning hum, but his response to her also got Tenten's attention and her ears perked at it.

There it was, the hum he wanted to hear from the cute, pink haired girl. "Because I've been training all my life: I got speed, agility, endurance, and a weird thing to make me see things slowly, or something..." He spoke, a gentle hum coming from his mouth in thought. Usually, he never knew what it was, but it usually occurred once he got infuriated.

Both Tenten and Sakura heard that last part and it caught their attention greatly. Sakura looked over to the right with a more concerned looked this time to see if she heard that correctly. "You mean, like a Kekkei Genkai?" She asked, brow raised in curiosity.

Mist shrugged. He had gone over things like this with Asa when he first arrived in this world and that Kekkei Genkai thing was one of the more interesting thing. It was like an eye power that usually is inherited from a bloodline and those who wield them a rare and have special abilities. "Yeah, I guess so." He informed the two girls as he continued walking.

At this, Sakura and Tenten exchanged glances and then they both looked back to the nonchalant boy with observant eyes. "So, this Kekkei Genkai, do you know if it contains a unique nature transformation or a Genjutsu?" Sakura asked with Tenten nodded in the background.

"To be honest..." Mist started, eyes shifting to the left to see how keen they were on listening to what type of Kekkei Genkai he wielded. "...I can't tell you both-"

"Because you don't trust us with that information?" Tenten attempted to finish his sentence also swapping places with Sakura as they walked. "If you're going to be apart of the Leaf now, you should tell us." She crossed her arms with a huff. "Trust is a two-way street, ya know."

Mist eyes were closed at hearing how persistent this girl was. He was shaking his head as his mouth began to open. "I was going to tell you that I haven't a microscopic clue on what it could be either."

"Oh..." Both Sakura and Tenten let out that simultaneously in understanding. This boy was just about to start his training, so they kinda guessed he would unlock it then. The two girls stared to the right and eyed him and his blood red eyes through his dreadlocks and this made a imagine of Sasuke flash into Sakura's head.

"Hey, Mistiltien," In that next split second, Asa dropped down from god-only-knows with her hands behind her back and a bright smile on her face. Using her shinobi skills, she took a quick analysis of the three infront and she saw that this atmosphere needed a bit more brightening.

Her appearing caused the trio to stop dead in their tracks as they gave the woman a questioning look. "What is it-" His eyes then suddenly shot over to the left at Tenten. That girl was under the impression that Asa was his mother, which meant he had to play this part now. A faint blush had then crossed his dark cheeks that were partially hid by his dread. "...mom?"

Asa raised a brow at hearing this, but took it in stride, remembering the lie she had told Tenten a bit earlier in the day. But that look on his face was oh so cute on him. With a smile, she stepped closer to him as the girls watched. "I have something for you." She said, bringing her empty right hand forward and tapped his forehead. "I just need you to hold your hair up for a bit."

Mist looked up to the woman and he nodded to her as he lifted both his hand, closing his eyes also. He placed both his hands on the crown of his forehead as he gently dragged his hands up his hair, tightening his hand around it so that he held it up like a high ponytail.

Sakura caught a glimpse of the red cloth behind Asa-sama's back and she couldn't help but smile along with the woman as she watched her left hand come from behind her back to show the red clothed forehead protector. A thought then came to mind as to what squad he would be placed in due to him actually becoming a Genin. Her eyes lowered a bit, the only obvious opening was Sasuke's place.

Tenten, just to the left of Mist, merely let out a muffled moan as a blush then spread across her face. 'Oh, my god,' She covered her mouth with her right hand. "Too cute." He was sooooo cute. Damn, did she sound like how Sakura and all the other fangirls did for Sasuke?

Asa lifted her right hand and took the left side of the cloth in her left hand with the metal plate facing her and the right side in her right hand. She had it stretched out as she moved both her arms forward and placed it on his forehead in the position where the metal plate was placed directly in the middle of his forehead as she then tied the parts she held together at the lower part at the back of his head. After she had finished, the woman took a step back as she went into her kunai and whipped out one of the knives, spinning it around her right Index finger a few times then she gripped it, holding it vertically up. "Okay, now," She grinned, holding the knife forward just a few inches away from his face so that he could see his reflection. "open 'em, Mistiltien."

Mist took heed to her words and released his hair as it dropped down all around it and hid the cloth around his head, but he lifted his hands and shifted the dreads that blocked the leaf insignia to the side. His eyes slowly to show his blood red spheres and he looked to his reflection in the knife in front of him. He hummed, taking a casual glance over at the two girls at his sides and took in their reaction to him having the headband.

"So, Mistiltien," Asa began, twirling the kunai around her finger, then placing it back into her holster. "How do you like the look?"

Sakura watched Mist from the far left, waiting to hear his response to Asa-sama's question. She wasn't to keen about this boy taking Sasuke's place on Team 7 if it happened, though she had this thought and infatuation now about his strength and the power he held. A Kekkei Genkai user would be just what they needed to bring Sasuke back. Someone that hopefully could combat the Sharingan would be very useful.

Tenten just stared at the boy in a silent, but awestruck manner at how this acted. In a way, this boy acted just like Sasuke in terms of attitude and personality. Then what if Sakura started to like him as much as she does Sasuke? She sighed and closed her eyes. 'I'm not in the mood for stupid love triangles.'

Mistiltien eyeball the woman in front of him for a few seconds and saw the amusement in her face. It was obvious that she was happy. All he was trying to do was make his pseudo mom happy, but he was also still hurting about how he couldn't find his way back home and the only one that knew of this was Asa...and maybe that old woman Tsunade. "I like it." Was Mist only words as Asa placed her right hand on his left shoulder and he looked at it and back to her with a questioning look. He raised a brow. "What?"

Asa now had a serious look on her face as she looked down to Mist's bloody red eyes. "We're about to start now." Her head shifted to the right as she smiled to the girls. "I'm going to borrow him, if you girls don't mind."

"N-not at all..." Sakura stammered, waving her hands to the side as Tenten glared at her. "He's...he's you're son, I mean."

Asa nodded and then vanished with Mist.

After they had left, Sakura eyes shifted over to tge right, but quipped back being startled by Tenten's glare. "Wha- what is it, Tenten? "

The ninja tool expert pointed to her own chest with her thumb. "He's mine."

Sakura just let out a sheepish chuckle with her eyes closed. "I wouldn't dream of it."

**(Scene Change)**

In the middle of the Hidden Leaf's Training Field, Mist stood facing the brown haired woman named Asa just a few steps away from her. His training was about to begin, but she had to get a few things checked on with him. Right now, all he cared about was getting this montage of training started. He wanted to see how strong he was, and how far he could make it in this world of Shinobi. He wanted to know his chakra level, his jutsu nature, his Kekkei Genkai thing, and how he could keep Asa safe.

He was ready. Asa made this assumption by just looking at the determination written all in his face that showed how ready he just was. Her head tilted in frustration, silently wanting to know what the boy could be thinking at this moment. She could just pull her hair out at the botheration. His stoic expression only served to frustrate her more with the fundamental part of Mist being a closed book.

Mist stood there, waiting. What was she doing? Why was she just gawking at him with that constipated look on her face? Did he do something wrong, or did he anger her in some way? His head cocked to the left. "What are we suppose to be starting with?" He asked.

This seemed to only snap her out of it just a bit as she hummed and just looked at him for a few seconds, but him waving his hand had seemed to knock her from her stupor. "Oh- um...what?" She shook her head frantically, blinking.

Mist put his right hand to his head as ge sighed and hung his head in his own frustration. "My training." He reminded the woman.

"Don't sigh at me." Asa ordered as the boy lifted his head looked at her. She crossed her arm next over her chest. "I just need to know right now if you remember how the first time you used chakra went?"

"Yeah, I got soaked." Mist said curtly, just staring up at the woman.

"But haven't you been building up chakra since that event and gaining control of it."

Mist eyes widened suddenly. How the hell did she figure out his secret? Did he make it that obvious, or was she just that damn good? He just let a smirk cross his face in amusement. "How'd you figure it out." He inquired, actually wanting to hear her response to him.

With her arms crossed, the woman closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. She then lifted her right arm and waved her hand as if something smelled. "The first week you were living with me you told me you were a genius," She informed the nodding boy. "When you continued to fail at walking on water, I thought you would give up until I could give you my undivided attention." Her arms lowered and she looked straight at the boy with a smile. "Knowing a genius, I knew you wouldn't just wait or give up."

Mist closed his eyes and nodded in the woman's direction. "You're smarter than I thought you were." He praised, kinda.

Asa raised her brow at hearing. 'He was as bad at complimenting people as he was at dealing with them' "Well...thank you, I guess." She said, awkwardly. "But, if our previous conversation is still relevant, you're ready to start your training."

Mist shrugged. "Pretty much."

"But," Asa went to her lowere back with her left hand and reached inside her pouch and pulled out a small square piece of paper and held it up in front of her. "I need to get two things straight right now." She recieved a look of confusion from the boy. "I need to know your chakra nature, so take this." She held the paper out to him.

Mist simply nodded and took it in his right hand and held it between the tip of his thumb and the right side of his index finger.

"Now, if your up to it, channel some of your chakra into the piece of paper, then well get our results in no time." She informed.

He nodded and did as he was told and channelled his chakra he had been building up for Two months, or less, into the paper. In that next instant, it crinkled from all around the finger tip as if it was struck with lightning, but the crumbled down and apart and fell to the ground. Mist blinked a few times as he stared in bewilderment. "So...what does this mean?" He questioned the woman.

"That's interesting..." She spoke aloud, though Mist doubted that she had meant to do this. The look of intrigue was obvious in her face at what she had witnessed a few seconds ago. A hum slowly came from her mouth as she nodded. "Lightning and Earth natures..."

"So I can use lightning and earth style ninjutsu, huh?" He asked, dropping his arms back down to his sides.

Asa nodded, smile still obvious on her face. "Mmm-hmm." She confirmed as she lifted her right index finger. "Now, one more thing..."

Mist looked at the woman in a questioning way.

"You remember that thing called a Kekkei Genkai?" Asa asked the young boy.

Mist nodded.

"Well, there is a large chance that you have one, and I need you to test it out on me right now." She said to him.

"How do I even use it?"

"Try this..." Asa lifted her right hand and tapped her right index finger on her temple. "Send chakra into your eyes, but first..." She took a few steps back in the case his Kekkei Genkai did hold a unique nature transformation. At a distance, she would be able to move it something was launched at her. Once she extended the gap between the both of them, she clenched her fist to ready herself. "Okay, do it now."

Mist nodded once again as he then closed his eyes and let out a soft breath to calm him down. At the moment, he was placid, not letting no noise around bother him as he gathered his chakra into his eyes like he was told. After a few moments, his left eye began to burn intensely and it snapped open leaving the right eye closed.

"Ah!" Asa gasped, taking a single step back at the darkness that instantly surrounded her. It was all around her, enveloping her almost in a suffocating way. All she remembered was seeing Mistiltien's blood red eye with the whites being turned red to match his irises. This was Genjutsu. There wasn't no doubt about it. But it was unlike the first Mist had caught within it, it was a bit more controlled and it seemed it had been concentrated. When Mist had first arrived in the Nations, he had caught her in a Genjutsu, but she broke it instantly.

"Mom and son, huh..."

Soon, a feminine disembodied voice had cut through the air around her. Her head shifted from right and left, readying a defensive stance. She had to be cautious and not ket her head get the best of her. If it did, then it might end up being the end of her, because Mist didn't know how to cancel Genjutsu and her premeditated defense for Genjutsu had seemed to cut off. "Who are you?"

"Do not question me, peasant!"

The disembodied voice yelled causing her eyes to close a bit, but she opened them so she could keep a close eye on the area surrounding her.

"The only one even close to a mother to Mistiltien is me."

Asa eyes only continued to shift around more as the invisible woman spoke.

"You do not understand him, how can you be someone close to him if he does not trust you completely?" The mystery woman asked. "By each day he's here in this world, his heart continues to falter, fearing he cannot see his family once again. With everyday, it weaken his spirit and soon, he'll be nothing."

As she listened, Asa only began to feel bad about Mist. She never talks to him because it's always hard for him to actually tell her how this place was slowly killing him. "He trust me." Was the only thing she could say, but she was also telling herself this.

"How?" The woman questioned. "Only those of the Jitsugetsu clan is able to understand one another, but you just lied to yourself, hoping you were right, but you are only scratching the surface to the secrets behind Mistiltien...like his name, the one I gave him."

'Jitsugetsu clan?' Asa spoke within her thoughts.

"Later in his time staying here with you, he has the chance of being the harbinger that shall show this world what he is, and when this happen, I need you to perform a Three Pentagon seal on him with two other strong shinobi."

"I don't know what that is and why should I perform this seal on him?"

"Because...people will die."

"What?" Before she could get a proper response, she was snapped back into the real world, standing back in her spot she stood before that Genjutsu was casted on her. Her eyes blinked as she stood up straight to see Mist standing in the same spot before, but he was now holding his left eye with his right hand. She had came to a conclusion and figured that he had Genjutsu, but that there wasn't Genjutsu...it was a message to her. Apparently, if she summed up everything that woman had told her, she could simplify that Mist was originally from the Hidden Nations and from a clan, but this Jitsugetsu was a mystery to her. She would just have to keep this to herself, though. If Tsunade learned about this, then she might kick him out of the village.

"Asa." Mist spoke, lowering his right hand to show his blood red orbs and the red screla of his left eye, but his right one seemed normal enough. Though she also noticed a blue form of markings all down the outer edge of his left and right eye. There were four horizontal stripes with a pointed end.

Asa looked at the boy, surprised a bit that he had finally used her name. "Yes?"

His eyes turned serious. "I'm ready now."

Asa stared at the boy. Was this him and his attitude when his Kekkei Genkai was activated? She shrugged and blitzed right toward Mist with her arms out back. Once she closed the gap between the both of them, she threw her left fist at the boy.

Though he hadn't the proper amount of training, the punch through his single Kekkei Genkai eye had it moving slow, so he simply swayed over to the right as it flew over his left shoulder.

**(Two months Later)**

In this very instant, the exchange had been the same, but this time, his skills were a bit more honed than the first time Asa had threw that same strike with her left first. His single eye Kekkei Genkai had saw this once again and he shifted his head over to the right as her fist went over his shoulder.

The older woman by the name of Asa Kai stared right into the eyes of the Kekkei Genkai user. Both her and him had smirks across their faces in enjoyment at the fun both of them were having. In only Two months, Mist had excelled in his Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and the use of his Genjutsu. But that wasn't the only thing that has grown in the last month, not only has his skills improved immensely, he had grew taller than her by a inch or three and gained a single year of age.

Mist grinned as he lifted his right hand up and grabbed the forearm of Asa's left arm, twisting his body in a counterclockwise fashion with his grip still tight on her, bringing around a reverse heel kick with his left leg.

Acting quickly, Asa caught the heel of his foot with her right hand and this caused his grip on her arm to release.

His back was now to her and his foot was still in her grasp, but he thought quickly and finished his spin as he then brought around his right foot to hit her in her head.

Asa scanned this and saw both of Mist's feet off the ground and proceeded on this opening released his foot, swaying backward as both feet shot right passed her nose.

The first foot to touch back down on the ground was his right foot, but he felt Asa's foot slid in between his shifted his right foot out of it's place so that he could lose his balance, and it caused him to stumble.

"Stop leaving yourself open." Asa spoke joyfully as she shifted her body and launched a perfect jab with her right hand and it collided with the boy's jaw. Seeming satisfied with her hit, she grinned.

*poof*

The grin was instantly wiped from her face as the boy had turned into a column of smoke to reveal a log that feel and hit the ground. Quickly, she took a short leap back as Mist then fell from the sky and stabbed the dirt of the training field where she had stood once with a kunai. "Almost had her."

Asa skidded backward on the grass, but she was then able to leap forward in a fast pace as she kicked his right hand off the handle of the kunai and then she shifted her body counterclockwise like to send around a reverse heel kick with her left leg.

On one knee, Mist saw the foot coming from the left and now with his free hands, he lifted his left arm up and blocked her leg right at the back of her lower calf.

"Your getting better," The still airborne Asa smirked down to the kneeling boy. She began to alter her weight, which caused her to curl forward and touch the top of his head with her left hand.

"What?" He let out, incredulously, eyes widened as they looked up to the woman over him.

"But I'll always be your sensei." And with that, she swung back down cocking her feet back and she got closer to the ground, she whipped them forward and kicked the boy directly in his face.

In the split before her sandal feet could hit him, he was able to lifted both his arms up and X style guard his face as he was then sent flying backwards, skidding and rolling until he corrected his body and shifted so that he was skidding on one knee with his hand to the ground.

As Mist slid, Asa feet touched back on the ground one at a time. He had stopped sliding about thirty feet away from her and this made her smirk at the unfortunate boy. His training was progressing well, having completed five D-rank assignments through the time of his it. Her eyes studied the kneeling boy for a few seconds, letting her eyes land on his left eye, which currently had his Kekkei Genkai activated.

The subject began to bother her again. Throughout the time of Mist's training, she had this nagging feeling that she was wrong about his eyes. The first time Lady Tsunade had encounter Mist with his Kekkei Genkai activated, she had secretly relayed to her that she wasn't aware that Kekkei Genkai could change appearances in the eyes. But none did...only Dojutsu changed in appearance, but she was aware that only three existed. The Sage of Six Paths only created three. Her eyes simply continued to scan over the boy as he pushed himself to his own feet and stood with his fist clenched to his side.

Mist looked on at the woman as he took a quick not on what shape she was in. It didn't seemed like she had even been in a fight: no exhaustion, no bruises, and no hint of wanting to call it a draw. They had been fighting on par for the greater half of the spar, but that was until his left eye began to act up and it started to eat away at his chakra. Slowly, but surely making the inevitable clear through his eyes. Nevertheless, he would continue to fight. He began to lower his right eye as the pupil in his left elongated into a slit and the blue stripes at the outer edges of eyes began to glow a bright cyan blue.

Asa let a small smirk cross her lips as she watched Mist begin to get a bit more serious. She loved when Mist did this! Going into a quick and steady defensive, she clenched her fist also. "C'mon, Mistiltien!" She cheered, actually in the seat for rooting him on. "Show me how you've progressed!"

Mist nodded as his arms lifted and formed a cross hand seal in front of his face as seven exact clones of him appeared behind him in a plume of smoke. "Okay, Asa!" He yelled as his left eye widened. "Nejiton!" He threw his arms out to the sides as if he was ripping through something, opening up a large portal that hid him Asa. In the portal, it look as if it was space itself with shining star and a white outlining of the circle. "Come on, guys," He jumped forward and through the portal. "Lets show her who we are!" And at that, each of the seven clones leaped in after the original, all with battlecry and the portal closed behind them with a loud snap.

Standing in her same spot, not moving an inch, Asa eyes shifted right and left then up and down in the search for surrogate son. She wondered where he'd pop out from this time. There was so many possibilities, but she could usually stop him before he could ever touch her. "Suiton..." With the sound of water splashing, from her elbow to her hand, water had began to form until it came to a sharp point like a long sword with sharp edges. "Water Conjure Jutsu." Soon, a portal appeared a mere fifteen feet ahead of her and this caused her eyes to sharpen. "Thought as much..." Her right arm lifted to cross her face diagonally.

Suddenly, another portal appeared to the left of her about the distance as the first and this caused her to hum in curiosity. Then another appeared to the left, and then behind her to heighten her curiosity. "This is new." She commented as a new portal appeared horizontally in the air above her about twenty feet with more appearing until they made a dome made of portals all around her. Her eyes scanned all around her and saw the portals set in the vicinity around her. "Certainly new." She added. "So, Mistiltien, what do you call this technique?" After the question, there was no immediate response to her question. It took a good two or three for...

"We call it!" To yell out as Mist leaped through the portal ahead of Asa with his body in a lunging fashion and with both his hands clinched and encased in lightning up to his forearm. "Lightning Barrage!"

Without a second thought of if this was Mist or one of those facsimile he had conjured up during the start of his new technique, she sliced diagonally downward and split him apart. Undeniably, she knew this wasn't Mist and it had dispersed as the way it came into this world.

At that, the many Mist charged from the portal, all with lightning around their arms. Asa eyes went around, counting each of the clone of Mist. 'There's seven of 'em, so Mist has to be in there.' She nodded as the first clone came closer to her with it's right fist reared back. Once it threw the punch, the water on her right arm had lost it's form as she then channelled her wind chakra to her hand and threw her hand out to grab the fist of the clone, countering his lightning nature. She tugged and pulled the clone close, dragging her left hand across her stomach to the right slashed it out to the left and cut the clone through the mid-section. Next, she step to the right as a clone slammed into the ground she had been standing on with both it's hands, and Asa took this as her chance to spin and kick the clone in the middle of its back. Not wasting any time, Asa began to skip backwards as the rest of clones, including one Mist, hit the ground and began to charge at her.

'Okay, Mist, pretty aggressive, huh?' She trampled through her thoughts, watching as the lightning fisted clones, and one Mist, charge at her. There were only four more clones left, excluding Mist, though she couldn't place which one was her surrogate son, so she guessed she would have to be mindful...if she could. In an unanticipated manner, she skidded backward and then began to skip over to the right as the first clone closed in on her and swung two jabs. The halted herself, dodging left then right, respectfully. Quickly, she took a step forward and propelled her arm through the stomach of the clone with the water blade still present on her left arm. During her lunge forward, she saw the next clone swing a lightning punch at her, but she lifted her right hand that had the essence of wind in it and slapped it to the left and she sliced him down the middle with her left hand and then proceeded with cutting the down.

Now this left only a single clone charging at her. Obviously, this one was Mist, but he didn't look to be giving up, knowing what he had saw just seconds before. Okay, if the stubborn boy wanted it like this, then she would happily oblige.

Suddenly, the Mist leaped into the air with a flying knee heading at the forehead of the brown haired ex-Anbu member.

Lazily, Asa stepped to the left and avoided the attack, but Mist had quickly shifted his weight to spin in a clockwise fashion, throwing his left leg out to the head of the woman. She lifted her right hand and blocked the kick.

Mist then landed on the ground in a crouching position and twist his body to slide around a low sweep kick with his left leg.

Thinking ahead of Mist, Asa lifted her right leg and swung a kick, which then hit him in the bridge of his nose that was intended to send him flying, but the sound of him dispersing caught Asa by surprise. "That wasn't the real one?" Her eyes were wide as she then noticed something. All the portals were still open! And with this observation, another portal opened up below her as two dark skinned reached up from it, grabbed both her ankles, and pulled her in. "Ah!" At this, she gasped as the portal closed behind her along with the rest of them.

In that next second, the woman had her eyes squeezed closed, feeling the rush of wind hitting her. "What?" Her eyes opened and stared up at the sky, seeing as she was moving further and further away from it. With enough will power, she was able to cock her head over to the left and saw the training field far below.

"Keep your eyes forward."

Her head then shifted back forward and saw a portal open up far above her, releasing who she guessed was the real and authentic Mist. He had both his fist cocked back as he flew down to her, intending on delivering the final blow. All of a sudden something hit her left cheek and she dragged her index finger across her cheek and pulled it back to see blood. It was from Mist's left eye. This was the sign of him utilizing his eyes far too long, so now it was just eating the rest of his chakra he hadn't used yet. "Mist!" She yelled up to the boy. "We need to stop now!"

Unable to hear her, Mist began to charge a ton of lightning chakra to both his arms, but he then felt a tug at his heart, feeling as blood began to drip from his left eye. The red in the sclera of his eye had faded away as the boy slowly faded into an unconscious state and his body went numb.

"Ah, Mistiltien!" Asa yelled, noticing his condition as the boy had began to plung down toward her. 'What did I tell you, Mist?' She berated him within her own thoughts. He had already figured his eye power out, but he still had this knack for pushing himself over the limit. At most, he was only able to utilize and activated his eyes for ten minutes, and no more than that. Any time use after his ten minutes, then his left eye would usually bleed and with the blood, large helping of chakra would be lost. The boy was so smart, yet he acted as if he wasn't as smart as he usually displayed.

The woman's arms stretched out in her own attempt to catch Mist before he could become a permanent part of the training field. She watched the boy speed down toward her and braced herself for the force. "Don't worry..." Her voice came from her mouth in velvety fashion. The body of the boy came into her reach and she had quickly wrapped her arm around the boy as the force caused her body to spin out of control, but she maintained her grip around the dark skinned boy. Her eyes closed and she hugged the boy closer to her. Coming to her conclusion on her feelings for Mist, she finally understood that she loved the boy like he was her own. It was hard to actually admit it, but she needed to dothis now, and she would fight for Mist no matter the cause.

She would respectfully throw her own life away to save his.

**Chapter End**

**Well, there it is. The forth installment and I hope you enjoyed it.**


	5. Prologue Pt 5

**The Route to Enlightenment**

**Prologue**

"Is he any better, Kai-sama?"

Asa Kai, walking down a empty hall, which she thought WAS empty, was met with the pink haired Konoichi by the name of Sakura Haruno. The retired Anbu Captain stopped in the middle of the hallway, looking down at Sakura with a questioning look on her face. She understood that Sakura may had been worried due to Tsunade-sama placing her and Tenten on their first mission with Mist, and with him being unconscious for the passed two days didn't make it any better. But Sakura would have to understand that Mist utilized a large portion of his chakra, because he hardly had any real chakra control, so he went into a chakra exhaustion that was almost on the borderline of death. Sakura was the one who had been the one at his side the second day he had not awaken and attempted to heal him, but, as thought, it didn't work. Or...maybe it worked, but they didn't know the actual extent.

The woman's eyes lowered, shaking her head left and right. "We haven't seen anything different in his current state." She paused, closing her eyes fully. "If Mistiltien has not awaken by the end of this day, you and Tenten may have to find a new squad member for that mission." She explained to Sakura, walking past the girl as she went toward the exit in the building in which she was currently located within.

Letting the information digest, Sakura sighed and hung her head with her eyes closed. Why was it her that would have to tell Tenten that her plan didn't work? It was simple: Beg Lady Tsunade for a mission, knowing Rock Lee and Guy-sensei were out on a mission and Neji was out of the question. It was that simple two days ago, but now they were under some complications. Tenten had been the one who wanted this mission and Her and Kakashi-sensei had offered to complete the squad with Mist agreeing at the end."Ugh...do I really have to tell her...?" She asked herself, contemplating the sanity of herself if she actually told Tenten.

She shook her head as she lifted it, walking forward to locate the room Mist was being held in. If she had anything to do with it, she would not be telling Tenten that Mist wouldn't be able to participate on this mission. And Tenten knew this might be the last time she would be able go on a mission with Mist due to the Chunin Exams approaching and Tsunade-sama would be X-ing out any missions for Chunin and under.

After three minutes of marching through the halls of the hospital, Sakura's eyes caught sight of a room coming up on the left, but the girl suddenly stopped once a black crow's feather slipped from under the door. "Huh?" She hummed in curiosity as she aproached the door, leaned over, and picked up the feather, inspecting the feather thoroughly. Her head nodded and knocked on the door with her left hand, though nobody answered. Deciding that Mist was the only one within the room, she slid the door opened, while saying, "Hello...Mist-kun..." Once the door was fully opened, she saw an empty bed closest to her and a section of the room where the other bed was hidden by drapes.

Sakura walked in and slid the door closed, turning back toward the drapes. "Hey, Mist-kun..." She spoke aloud, though, once again, there was no answer. This meant the red eyed boy was still asleep, so she made her way over to the drapes, grabbing them with her eight hand and slid them to the right, but she froze once she saw some unknown figure standing next to the bed. Her eyes widened. "Who are..." She paused, making out that the person there had raven black hair, wearing a black cloak with red cloud placed around it with the high collar hiding his mouth and a bit of his nose. 'The Akatsuki.' She confirmed as she looked into the man's eyes to see the blood red color with the three symmetrically placed tomoe around a dotted pupil. 'Wait...the Sharingan...this...this must be Itachi...Uchiha.' She said within her thoughts.

A bit of sweat began to roll down the side of her head as she came to the conclusion that this was the man that caused Sasuke so much pain and was after Naruto. Her fist clinched, taking a single step forward.

"It would be wise to not do what you are about to do." The impassive voice of the Uchiha male had stopped her advances. "You have already been subjected to my Genjutsu, so anything you do will be worth nothing."

Sakura halted, though her fist was clinched as a grunt came from her mouth. Both her brows were furrowed, glaring daggers toward the man. "What are you doing here?" She asked. "Sasuke and Naruto isn't here."

"I know." Itachi spoke with a simple nod, which caused Sakura to glare at the man even harder. "The two of them is not of a importance to the Akatsuki at this moment." His left hand lifted and shifted over to the left to point at the unconscious boy. "Currently, he is." He informed Sakura, lowering his hand back to his his side, watching as Sakura's eyes widened.

Sakura's mouth opened, eyes widening to the brink of them actually falling from the sockets. "W...why?"

"The boy has a special power that we need." Was all Itachi said to her on the subject, but he continued with, "This is my warning to you of Konohagakure no Sato, that boy has a power and the Akatsuki wants it."

"Then why not now? Why won't you take it now?" Sakura asked, nervous to see his response. Not yet. She wasn't strong enough to go head to head with sonebody like the man in front of her. Someone that was able to massacre the entire Uchiha clan singlehandedly...she was not at his level yet. "Why wait when this is the perfect opportunity?" She pointed her right hand at the unconscious boy.

"Because..." As Itachi began to speak, crows cawed, flying from his body as he suddenly in a complete mass of crows, flying out of the window of the hospital room to leave his space empty. "I want to see what that boy can do with the strength that is essential to the Akatsuki goal."

Sakura steadied herself, calming down a bit as she undid her fist to let out a relaxing breath to place herself. Though the moment ended without any conflict, she was unnerved at it. Her eyes shifted over to the right and at the boy. She had been told that people were coming after Mist, though she did not know it would be the Akatsuki, a criminal organization that had been hunting the Bijuu...which she heard from Tsunade-sama. 'What type of power can this boy have?' She asked herself, staring directly at the eyes of his unconscious form.

It made her nervous. This boy...she didn't know if he could be a match against the Akatsuki. Throughout his training, she had visited the training field periodically to watch the boy train, and she could obviously see that the boy was capable of becoming a great shinobi if he went down the right road. She watched him perform a series of techniques that were unique and also new to her. And he also wielded Genjutsu, so she guessed that would come in hand through his time as a shinobi.

Sighing after about five seconds, Sakura slid the drape back into place to hide Mist and turned to walk toward the door. Once she made it through, she suddenly flinched as she caught a glimpse of a figure leaning up against the wall to the right of the door. With her shinobi reflexes, she charged chakra into her left leg, swinging it to the right to have a preemptive strike on whoever was there, but she had gasped feeling the grasp of a hand on her ankle.

"What're you doing, Sakura-chan?"

Hearing this, Sakura quickly leaped away to the other side of the hall. Once she steadied, what she could be met with was the unusually stoic form of Asa, though she was frowning a bit, a slight desolate within her eyes. She let out a breath with her eyes closed. "Oh...it's you, Kai-sama..." She said, but she was silently amazed that the woman had been able to catch one of her chakra charged kicks.

"Who were you in there with?" Asa asked, wasting no time in what she had heard going on in the room. Sakura began to open her mouth, but Asa spoke before she could. "Was that Itachi-kun?"

"Ho...How'd you know?" Sakura questioned, stupefied at how correct the woman was. "Did you see him?"

Asa lowered her head, shaking her head left and right. "It was his voice..." She answered the younger girl as she lifted her head to look directly in her eyes. "I'd remember his voice out of anyone's in my life...even Mist's." She said to her.

Sakura eyes softened at how the woman had spoke. She must have had something with Itachi before he left Konoha to join the Akatsuki some time ago. Softly, a hidden smile crossed her face at the thought. She could understand how she must've felt once Itachi had left the village...must've been close to how she felt when Sasuke had left the village.

Shaking her head, Asa came back to her senses and looked directly at the girl across the hall. Her arms crossed over her chest as she had remembered what Itachi had did to her and the village. "What did he want?" Was her question, a bit of venom seeping onto all four of her words.

"Well..."Sakura trailed off, her eyes shifting from the woman. She wanted to tell the woman, but she knew how much she cherished Mist after spending two months around him. She was very protective over him, overseeing most missions he had gone on. It was unknown to her on how the woman would react after hearing that the Akatsuki was actually after Mist. "Um..."

"What, Sakura-chan?" Asa cocked her head to the right, confusion written across her face.

Sakura's eyes trailed back to the woman, and nodded. "The Akatsuki is after Mist." She told the woman, not holding anything back. "Itachi-san told me that Mist has a special type of power that the Akatsuki wants."

Asa hummed, a finger stroking her chin as she began to think to herself. After a few seconds, she spoke. "So, why didn't he capture Mist then and there?" She asked. "He's at his most vulnerable state in there." 'Itachi-kun must be planning something other than just what's on the Akatsuki agenda.' She told herself, knowing full well that Itachi would rather do things nice and calmly, because he was a slight pacifist.

"Um...he said he would rather fight Mist at his strongest."

Okay...yes. She was undoubtedly spot on. She never remembered Itachi having fun with fights no matter how tough the opponent could be. He was planning on something. A smirk crossed her features in satisfaction. "Okay, but I hope the Akatsuki knows we'll be ready for anything they can throw at us."

Sakura nodded with a smile. "But...will you be sending Mist on the mission tomorrow..." She silenced for a second before speaking again. "If he wakes, that is..."

"Of course," Asa spoke, a smile also present on her face. "Though I love Mistiltien so much..." Her smile slowly lowered. She treated Mist as if Mist was her own, and Mist sent the same love he got back to her with less relunctance then she ever would believe. "I also need to know when to let him be him..." Her eyes drifted. "Though the last time I did that, he ended up using up a mass amount of his chakra reserves."

Once again, Sakura nodded her head as she pumped her fist in front of her chest. "Alright. All I need from his is to wake up."

"What you need from him is his peaceful sleep." Asa told the pink haired girl, a stern expression over her face, watching as the girl's expression dropped into a look of confusion. "If Mistiltien wakes up, then he wakes up, but you may want to begin searching for a replacement for that four man squad."

'Damn...' Sakura cursed within her thoughts as she hung her head. That meant she would have find a new teammate in the case that Mist didn't wake up. "I'll get right to it." And with that, she began her simple march to the exit of the hospital.

Watching her depart from the area, disappearing down the hall, Asa sighed in thought. She closed her eyes, scratching the side of her cheek. 'So...I guess Itachi-kun did forget about me after the last five years.' Beside the fact that the man had forgotten about her, she smiled. 'Everyone always said our relationship would not work due to our age...but who knew it would have ended like that?'

**(Break)**

Sakura walked through Konohagakure no Sato, a look of thought on her face. She already began her search for the replacement for Mist on the mission she would be sent on tomorrow. She had akready asjed a few shinobi around the village, though most were busy and just couldn't make it. Hinata was taken, Neji was taken, Lee was taken...and that was it. She had a few more to go, so she would give the next one of her list a try. This is what led her to the BBQ spot Team Asuma was usually located at due to Choji and his...problem.

Clearly her throat before she approached the restaurant, She lifted her right hand to move the drapes from her way, soon being hit with the mesmerizing scent of the BBQ. The shop was packed, almost a full house, family having a good time and eating together. A smile was unable to stay off her face.

"Hey, Choji, quit hogging all the meat!"

Sakura heard this yell, her head shifting over to the left and at a booth with three individuals sitting in it: one a pale skinned teenage girl with long platinum blond hair tied back in a ponytail and a long bang also covering her teal colored eyes, another a more portly teenage with black eyes and a chubby face that has swirls on both cheeks having auburn colored hair that is very messy and reaches down to his lower back, while the last being another teenage boy, about the same age as the rest with fair skin and raven black hair that is tied back in a high ponytail that resembles a pineapple.

Sakura could only smile at seeing the more chubby boy attempt to eat each piece of the meat that was on the grill at the table with the pineapple head boy continuously stopping him from doing such. Across from the boys, she noticed the platinum blond girl by the name of Ino just chuckling until she had opened her eyes and suddenly looked her way, toward the entrance. Sakura waved at the girl as she waved her over as she made her way over them. Once she made it over to the booth, she placed a hand on the back of the seat and slid in the same seat Ino was in and sat next to the girl as she smiled to everyone. "Hey." She greeted the three.

With a chopstick to his mouth having about four pieces of meat in between them, Choji attempted to put it in his mouth, though Shikamaru had been pulling his arms back, but they both of them nodded at Sakura. "Hey, Sakura-chan..." Once they said this, they continued fighting over the last of the meat.

Shaking her head at the two, Ino turned her head over to her left and looked to Sakura. "So, what brings you here?" She asked the other Konoichi. "I didn't depict you as one to eat BBQ."

"I do...barely." Sakura said to the girl to her right, smiling a bit. "But I was here on business."

Ino's eyes raised a bit at her saying this. "Huh? With who to be exact?" She asked.

"Well..." Sakura began. "You know that new boy byvthe name of Mist?"

Ino groaned and her head slumped a bit. "You mean the boy Tenten has gone all gaga over?" She asked. "He's been here for about over two months now and I still haven't seen him...wassup with that?" She grumbled a bit, her brows furrowed. "Tell me," Ino leaned in. "Do he look the way Tenten described to me?"

Sakura raised a brow. "What did she tell you?"

"Weeeeeellll..." Ino spoke, eyes trailing up in thought as she tapped her chin, imagining how the boy Tenten described looked like. "First, she said he has beautiful, ebony colored skin with eyes as red as a ruby, having eyelashes that reminds her of a cat. With his nice, athletic body to enhance how cute he is, with black twisted hair in multiple rope like strands." With each thing she named off, the imaginary model had been changed to the exact appearance. For a second or two, she hummed and lowered her head back to Sakura. "Sounds like a hunk..." She smiled brightly at Sakura. "Hope Tenten and this boy find love." The girl admitted.

Sakura raised a brow at how "honest" the girl was being. This was really unlike her entirely. Usually, Ino was never this sincere. "Yeah, I do, too," Sakura nodded. "But Mist is totally oblivious to the fact that she likes him, though she has done a variety of things to show him." Was her explanation to Ino.

"You mean," Ino cocked her head to the right. "Like Sasuke-kun?"

At hearing this name, Sakura eyes lowered a bit, having a rush of memories of the Uchiha male when he was apart of Team 7. "Yeah...just like him..." With each word that came from her mouth, sorrow could be identified.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sakura-chan." Ino apologized, frowning a bit as she watch Sakura expression drop.

Sakura shook her head slowly, swinging her hair as she then looked back up to Ino. Replacing the expression on her face was a small, but fake smile. "But...what I really came here for was-"

"Hey, Sakura-chan,"

At the sound of the new voice, The group of four turned their head to the entrance of the shop to see Tenten, sticking her head between the drapes as she smiled. "Mist-kun woke up, you should come see him." Her head was then gone.

At the information, Sakura brows were raised as her head shifted over to Ino. "This is your chance to meet him," She said to the girl as she pushed herself up from the seat to stand to her feet, leaning over to be eye level with the sitting girl. "You should come and meet him for the first time."

Ino stared at the girl for a bit before she nodded and slid out the seat, nodding to the boy. Once she stood, her and Sakura began to walk out the shop as she said, "You guys got the bill."

Hearing this, Shikamaru and Choji looked to one another with a hum of absolute confusion.

**(Break)**

Only about seven minutes of travel to the Hospital, though it had been shortened due to the three Konoichi giving it a full-blown sprint toward the the building, scaling buildings just make it to the place. A simple three minutes, and now the three were walking down the hall toward Mist room, Tenten in more of a rush the Sakura and Ino, and the two had noticed this. The two could only smile. They had never seen Tenten like this over a boy...or anybody, to be exact. She seemed so cute when she was determined to get this boy to notice her. The two girls looked to one another and nodded.

Once arrival to the door that Mist had been on the opposite side of when she left, Sakura lifted her right hand and gently knocked on the door, being sure not to just outright bang on it, still oblivious to what symptoms Mist had. After about five seconds, Sakura looked to her left then right at Ino and Tenten in bewilderment from no-one answering.

"You think we should just walk in?" Ino commented, looking directly at Sakura.

Sakura shook her head. "You don't know what could be going on in there." She said. "He could be half dressed."

"He couldn't be," Tenten began from Sakura's right. "He just woke and isn't permitted to move until tomorrow. "

"Yeah...bu-"

"Mist!"

At hearing this yell, the door slid open to a slam, causing the girls to flinch, Sakura being shoved to the left as a barefoot Mist, sporting a white tank top and and black slack. He didn't spare anyone of them a single glance, marching down the hall with the sound of his feet hitting the floor left behind.

Ino gained a smug look, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched the boy with the black and weird hairstyle walk down the hall. "Rude much?" She said.

Sakura watched, a confused look across her face. "Yeah, but weird." She added.

Tenten had watch the boy storm off, eyes lowered, wondering what was wrong with him.

"Mistiltien!" Asa suddenly ran out into the hall, looking down one end of the hallway, then the left in a hurried fashion. Her facial expression was filled with worry, unable to think rationally at this moment. She turned around to face the girls that was in the doorway. "Girls," She spoke to them.

"Huh?"

"Which way did he go?" Asa clinched her fist, a bit of fear bubbling up to the surface, shaking a bit. "I can't let him get out of the village."

"Um...he went that way, Kai-sama." Sakura pointed down the right side of the hall.

Asa nodded quickly, lifting her right leg to run.

"Wait, Kai-sama." Tenten stopped the woman.

Asa let her foot touched the ground once again and turned to the brown haired girl with a anxious look plastered across her face.

Tenten stared at the woman for a few moment, gaining the attention of Ino at the far end. After the dramatic stare down between the two, her mouth began to open. "What's wrong with him?" She asked, a bit of a serious tone coming from her.

Asa looked down at the girl, teeth grinding behind her closed mouth, brows furrowing a bit as she watched as the question had seemed to gain the attention of Sakura and another Konoha Genin by the name of Ino Yamanaka. Releasing a sharp breath, her mouth began to open, beginning to say, "After I gave him an explanation that the Akatsuki were after him, he suddenly had this urge to go after them." She elaborated.

"Wait, the Akatsuki is after Mist-kun/ that boy?" Tenten and Ino asked, brows raised in shock, now wondering why would the Akatsuki be after him.

Asa nodded to the two girls as her eyes landed on Sakura in the middle. At least she knew Sakura could be trusted with information that shouldn't be public before she had all the bits and pieces together.

"But, wait...Kai-sama..." Sakura paused, brows forrowed, knowing how intense this would get if Mist was actually captured. There had to be something very special about the dark skinned dreadhead for the Akatsuki be gunning for him. "Have you been able to explain who the Akatsuki were to Mist-kun?" She asked, concern for the boy. "No disrespect, but he isn't strong enough to face them."

"None taken, but I have told him about Itachi, and him alone could be a problem for Mistiltien." Asa said and crossed her arms. "It's almost scary hearing that someone so close to me is being hunted like they aren't even a human."

"Don't worry about all that though." Ino began smiling a bit.

"He has the Leaf behind him, so he has nothing to worry." Tenten continued, nodding to the older woman that claimed to be Mist mother.

"And we'll protect him like he's our own." Sakura finished, smirking at Kai-sama. She could read her demeanor really well at the moment and she could tell that she was scared for Mist, and would probably do anything in her power to protect him. "You can count on that."

Asa smiled, thanking the girls with a nod. "Thank you," She said. "But I need to stop him before he can walk through any portals and make it out of the village?"

"Portals?" Ino raised a brow at the woman saying this.

Asa looked to the left and at Ino. "Yes." She nodded. "It can be described as a mass of energy being pinpointed in two locations, creating a distortion through time and space, leaving it able to become a portal of such."

"Really?" Ino asked, sounding a bit astounded by the information she received. "That seems pretty useful."

"What he tells me, it is." Asa added. "During his training, he even used his Nejiton as a offensive Ninjutsu, calling 'Portal Bomb', and it was pretty strong, though incomplete."

**(Scene Change)**

Soundlessly, Mist marched through Konoha, hands shoved in his pockets with his eyes closed, walking barefoot. With the information he obtained from Asa about the Akatsuki, he intended on making his way through the Hidden Nations to track out their lair, or whatever. Though his eyes were already closed, they squeezed tighter, remembering the look in Asa's eyes as she told him this criminal organization was hunting him down. It was a look of fear for him, maybe afraid that it was a chance for him to be taken from her...but he knew it would never be happening.

Never would he be killed or captured like some sort of animal. With a look of determination, his eyes snapped opened, brows furrowed with the sclera of his left eye being red with blue, horizontal pointed lines down the outer edge of that eye. As this happened, a large portal opened up in front of him. Just before he could step through the portal, he noticed very thin wires around his body just before they had wrappes tight around his body, restraining arms to his sides and his legs together. "Ah, what the-" Before he could actually finish, he had been yanked backwards, causing his to hop a little until he was then yanked with full forced, hitting his face and chest on the ground, grunting. Not even able to think quick enough, he was now sliding across the ground, hearing the confusion of the villagers. After about three seconds of being dragged, he felt himself lift off the ground, being hung upside down, though he couldn't tell want he was hanging by.

Swinging slowly along with his law abiding dread, Mist eyes scanned all over the area in front him until he spotted Asa, Sakura, Tenten, and a blond haired girl on the ground, standing a few away, though they were upside down...or right side up. Sharply, he stared directly at the woman that called herself his mother, a bit of malice leaking from him.

Asa stared up at the boy, arms crosses over her chest, a serious look plastered across her face. "What's with that look?" She asked the hanging boy.

"Why are you stopping me?" He sent a question back to her not a second later.

"Because she loves you and don't want to see you hurt, idiot!" Ino blurted out, glaring daggers up at the boy, a bit of disgust on her face, noticing his left eye.

Mist eyes shifted up to the blond, though he simply huffed and turned his attention back to Asa. "What did you really want to say?" He asked, hearing Ino say, "Ugh, how rude is this boy?"

Asa eyes grew softer, arms lowering as she began. "I just don't want you to go out there in search for the Akatsuki and wind up being killed." She explained.

"But I'm doing this for you." He said, causing the woman's eyes to shoot wide. "I want you to know that I'm living fine with no one in this world after me."

"That can't reassure me, Mistiltien!" Asa yelled, causing Sakura, Ino, Tenten and a few villagers flinch. She stepped forward once, though she still wasn't under or near him. The yell made Mist's eyes widen. "How can I stop worrying if it is a chance of you being killed?" She asked. "It's hard enough that I know that you are strong and will be let on a mission like finding the Akatsuki some time soon, but you are not ready for it yet."

Mist stayed quiet, watching the woman's movements as she spoke to him.

"So, I am not letting you go, Mistiltien..." The said and turned her back to him, walking through the three girls, hair hiding her eyes from view.

As she departed from the group, Mist watched her, eyes lowered at her words she left for him. He let them sink in. Why did her saying this make him always feel so bad in spirits? It wasn't that he didn't understand her feelings for him...it was just that he didn't want her to worry, so he had decided to go and put an end to this Akatsuki group, hoping that she wouldn't worry anymore. Though he guessed him going to make them disappear made her worry even more.

Sakura, Ino, and Tenten looked up to the hanging boy.

Mist groaned as he watched them watch him just swing there. "Are you just gonna watch the blood rush to my head here?" He asked. "I got means of letting myself down, though I'd rather refraim from using it."

"Hmph, I'd rather see him use it." Ino spoke, her arms crossed, a bit irritated at how the boy treated that other woman.

"Ino..." Sakura shook her head, ging into one of her pouches and tossed a shuriken at the wire, chopping it apart as the boy fell to the ground head first. "He's actually a great guy."

Seeing the boy fall, Tenten eyes widen, stepping forward. "Mist!" She yelled, lifting her right hand, as she ran in a attempt to catch him. Once she was directly under him, she held her arms out with her intent to catch the falling boy, and he landed in her arms, causing the brown haired girl to topple over and fall to her butt with Mist on his stomach over her lap.

Simultaneously, they both let out an "Ow" with their eyes squeezed closed as Tenten rubbed her backside. Slowly, Mist left eyes faded back to it's original state, blinking it a bit as his vision returned to it's regular state.

Tenten continued to rubbed her backside, saying, "Are you okay, Mist-kun?" She asked the boy laying across her lap.

His arms and legs still restrained by the wires, Mist nodded with his eyes closed. "Relatively, yes." He said, remembering the girl he was on top of at the moment in time.

Once she stopped rubbing herself, Tenten smiled and nodded, looking to the top of his head. "Well, that's good, right?" She asked the boy, hoping he would get the intent she held behind her words.

"For me, or for you?" Mist asked, completely oblivious to the ambition behind her words, staring straight toward the ground. "Because I actually fell on you just a bit ago."

Tenten scratched the back of her head with a sheepish and laughed. "It wasn't nothing really." She told the boy.

"Thank you anyways." Mist said as he rested his chin on her left leg, releasing a sigh from his mouth. "But, Tenten...I think you can cut the wires from me now."

"Oh...oh, yeah..." Tenten eyes widened a bit as she went into one of her pouches with her right hand brought out a kunai knife, spinning it around her index finger over ten times, stopping it as she held it in reverse grip. "Here we go..." She said as she placed the knife under the first lining of wire. "Stay still, Mist-kun." After she said this, she cut through it, then the next and the next until she cut the wires all the way down to the last one around his ankles. She then put the kunai away and nodded. "There you go."

Feeling his body become loose from the wires, he moved his arms up and pushed himself to his feet, holding his right hand out to the girl, looking onto her with a straight face. "Come on." He said to her.

Tenten eyes were on the boy standing over her. Was he being nice to her? Well, it wasn't like he was mean to her before, but he was usually more distant and dismissive, though it seemed this time he was actually caring for her. "Okay..." She lifted her right hand and grabbed his with a large smile on his face.

The two bystanders watched, brows raised in confusion. Ino looked to the right at Sakura and asked, "Are you sure they aren't together?" Though she didn't like Mist too much, she did notice that he was pretty attractive, and his personality was like Sasuke's.

Sakura shrugged her shoulder in a hesitant way. "I...I don't know anymore."

Once she was to her feet, Tenten dusted herself off as she smiled up to the taller boy, batting her eyes a bit. With her hands behind her back, she twirled both her index fingers behind her back. "So...Mist-kun..." She began, looking back to the boy who only nodded to her. "Will you still be coming on the mission you agreed to tomorrow?'

"Mmm-hmmm." Mist nodded at her question. "My mother doesn't want me tracking down the Akatsuki, I can still particpate on the mission with you tomorrow." He said to her.

"Yes, that is true." Tenten commented, silenced for a bit. After about three seconds and Mist just raising a brow at her, she spoke, and asked, "Since we have a mission together, don't you think we should get some training in tonight?"

Mist eyes shifted to the right at Sakura, then back to Tenten. "What about Sakura?" He asked. "Doesn't she need some training?"

"Ah!" Sakura gasped as she was suddenly brought into the conversation. "No, no..." She waved her hands side to side with a sheepish smile. "If I need any training, I can get Tsunade-sama or Kakashi-sensei to help me." She saw what Tenten was attempting to do, and she didn't want to step on her toes...and being a third wheel wasn't really her thing.

Tenten nodded to Sakura and looked back to Mist, silently thanking the pink haired girl. "So, can I expect you at the training field when the sun begins to set?"

"Of course." And with that, he gave a nodded to both Sakura and Ino, walking passed Tenten in the direction of his little apartment Asa had got him when he first started living in the village.

As the boy departed from the group of girls, Tenten leaped in front of Sakura and Ino, a preppy attutide and smile across her face. Her fist were clinched in front of her chest, eyes sparkling like a puppy's. "You hear that!" She spoke excitedly. "I got a date with Mist-kun."

"Tenten, the two of you are going to train." Ino began, waving her hand at the girl with a short sigh. "And that's what that boy will make it out to be." She informed, causing Tenten eyes to lower a bit and her attitude to drop.

"Next time, trying being less incognito and try asking him on a real date." Sakura also sighed as Tenten eyes went to her. "Though smart, Mist-kun is too stupid to actually see when a girl likes him..."

"Huh..." Tenten tilted her head to the side in thought now. She tapped her index finger on her chin as she spoke. "How about I make it obvious to him then."

"What do you mean?" Both Sakura and Ino tilted their heads in confusion.

Tenten smirked and grabbed both the shoulders of her clothing with her index and thumb using both hands. "How bout I try getting all dressed up for him?"

Ino shrugged her shoulder and groaned a bit. "Tenten, what can you possibly see in that boy?" She asked the girl. "Beside his looks, the boy has nothing going for himself."

Tenten simply smirked and put her hands on her hip, rolling her eyes. "Just like how Sasuke-kun was your type, Mist-kun is mine, so don't question it." She shot at her. "This is the first time I can recall liking someone, so be happy."

**(Break)**

Over the forest heading out of Konohagakure, a massive red and black falcon flew high in the sky, flapping it's every few seconds, the sun almost lowering from the sky.

Sitting on the head of the falcon was Asa Kai, her eyes closed as she trampled through her thoughts frantically, trying to figure out the reason why Mist would attempt to defy her and go after the Akatsuki. She had informed the boy on how strong Itachi Uchiha was, but he was still bent on trying to take the Akatsuki out all by himself. Though his eyes were strong, there was no possible way his eyes could combat the Mangekyo Sharingan yet. That was one real reason she didn't want Mist going after the Akatsuki. From experience, she knew how formidable the Sharingan was, and she didn't want Mist to figure out how inferior his eyes were to it.

But he was heading out on his first B rank mission tomorrow: transport a clan heiress from Aisugakure no Sato, a hidden village overseas in Yuki no Kuni, The Land of Snow, to Sunagakure. The mission didn't make no sense though...Yuki no Kuni was a predominately covered in snow, and moving a person from there to Suna meant something was obviously going on.

She sighed softly and lowered her head, resting her eyes. Mist could be gone for longer than three days, giving how long the mission would take. It could be near a week, but the Chunin Exams would have been started at that point. The best thing she could do was see him off tomorrow.

**(Scene Change)**

'Aww...I hope he didn't forget.' Tenten spoke within her thoughts, leaning her back against one of the three post that could be found in the training field. The girl stared up to the sky admiring that orange transformation it had taken. Her arms were behind her back, her finger intertwined with each other. For Mist, she had let her brown hair down that fell just to the top of her shoulders, trimmed and cut correctly with bangs across her forehead, being held to the right with a red hair clip. She wore a red, sleeveless Chinese styled dress that hugged her form and fell to her ankles, with a single slit along the side up to her thighs for mobility with also black skintight shorts that stopped at the middle of her thigh. She also wore black flats.

Looking down at herself, she eyed her outfit, gaining a thoughtful expression. "I wonder if this is too much for just training." She said to herself, almost becoming lost. Her head shook side to side, smiling a bit at herself.

"Hello?"

At hearing the familiar voice, her head lifted up slowly.

About ten feet away from Tenten, Mist had arrived on the training field, with his usually straight face. He stared at the person as their head had began to lift, he had identified the person as his eyes slowly began to widen in shock seeing the beautiful woman had been Tenten. Throughout his time of knowing the girl, he always thought she was pretty, but him seeing her now...she was transcendent. "Are you..." He paused a bit, taking a step forward. "Are you Tenten?"

Tenten noticed the change in his demeanor, which caused a smile to spread across her face in enjoyment. She liked how he reacted to her. "Pretty much." She answered him, a blush across her cheeks. Her eyes looked Mist up and down, noticing he wore a black zipper hoddie that is zipped down fully with the left sleeve cut off to show a white short sleeve. Under his hoodie, he wears a white high collared shirt with the high collared shirt is tucked into a pair of black slacks, having bandage tied around his right leg and a kunai holster attached. She also noticed his hair tied back in a ponytail. He wasn't dressed the way should would want for her first date, but it wasn't his fault that he didn't know.

"I thought we were suppose to be sparring." Mist said. "You don't have nothing to fight me with..." He tilted his head. "Can you move properly?"

"Um..." Tenten twirled around with her left leg out. Once she came to a stop, she faced Mist with a small smile. "Yeah, I can move pretty fine." She said as she then held out both her hands, facing the palms upward showing the kanji for "seal" painted on both her palms. "Watch this." After she said this, she channeled chakra into her hands as a plum of chakra poof into existence.

"Huh?" Mist raised a brow as he took a few steps forward until he was in front of her, waiting for the smoke cloud to disperse. Once it actually did dissipate, two scrolls could be seen, one in each hand.

"You haven't seen me in action yet, have you?" She asked the boy, looking up to him with a smile as he simply shook his head. "Well..." She walked around him with a sly grin as she then took a few retreating steps back. "I wasn't intending on actually fighting in my favorite dress," She mumbled out. "But I should show you what I am capable if we should be going on a mission together."

As she had circled around him, his body and eyes followed the girl, stopping as she had decided to take a few steps away from him. "That's what I came here for..." He nodded, preparing himself, taking a defensive stance as he put his guards up.

Tenten grinned wider as she lifted a single finger on both hands as some of the paper unraveled. Suddenly, she whipped both her arms up then down as the paper waved, sending a storm of kunai directly toward Mist.

Mist gasped, but simply flashed through a series of hand seals as he then ended by clapping his hands together. "Doton!" He exclaimed, slamming his hands to the ground as the earth rumbled. "Mud Wall!" As he yelled, a large section of earth began to lift from the ground and stopped about six feet higher than him. Once he heard the sound of the kunai knives hitting the wall, he sighed, but he then heard a few thunks hitting the opposite side of the wall. Suddenly, he heard the sound of ticking and the wall that had been protecting him had exploded, sending rocks everywhere, which caused him to fly backwards. He rolled a few times and corrected himself, sliding backwards with his right hand to the ground. Coming to a halt, he lifted his head and saw Tenten falling down on him with a flail. Quickly, he rolled over to the right and picked himself up to distance himself from Tenten.

Once he believe he gained enough space from Tenten, he spun himself around only to see the spike ball of the flail coming straight to his face. His eyes widen, but thought quickly and duck under it as it flew over his head. Shifted as he lifted up to the right to avoid the chain, coming eye to eye with Tenten and she stared back at him, but the exchange ended quickly as he leaped over to the right and distance himself from her once again, landing on the water of the river located in the training field.

Steadying herself, Tenten turned to face the boy as the spike ball flail poof away and was replaced by wooden tohfa in both her hands, gripping the handles as she spun them around. She couldn't lie...she was actually beginning to have a fun time, though she didn't expect to be throwing any punch. "Why are you running? You scared?"

Mist shook his head at her. His eyes squeezed closed. "I don't feel...all to one hundred about hitting you." He told the girl. "You're a girl; you're squishy!"

"Don't worry, Mist-kun, I'm a big girl." She flexed her biceps as she grinned to the boy. "I've learned to take physical attacks." And at that, not giving Mist no time to process what she said, she was already sprinting toward him as she transfered from land to water, twirling both to point both the longer wooden ends toward the front.

Once again, Mist got into a defensive as she closed in on him.

Closing the gap between the two of them, Tenten swung her right arm to the left, intending on hitting Mist on the side of his head with the hardwood.

Swaying his upper body back, Mist successfully avoided the strike, though he was pushed to move his left foot back.

Quickly, Tenten took a step forward, stabbing both the tohfa forward in a flurry to hit him in his head.

Skillfully, Mist dodged left and right, avoiding each strike as he took his steps backward due to her advances.

After awhile of him dodging her strikes, Tenten pulled back with just a bit of space between the two of them, taking a leap into the air with a front flip as she came down with her left leg out.

Mist head lifted up and watched the girl in the air, but his amazement ended as she came closer to dropping that leg on him. He leaped far to the left to avoid her and landed on the water as he watch the girl hit the watch which caused a spike of water to fly up. Though the water had yet to fall, he noticed another barrage of kunai flying toward him, though he narrowed his eyes once he saw the tags strapped to each of them. Clapping his hands together, he shot through a flurry of hand seals. At the end of the series, the boy held his hands symmetrically to one another, touching both his pinky finger, ring finger and his thumb together in front of his face. "Raiton!" He cocked his left leg back as he lowered his right hand to his side, lightning cursing around it. "Lightnig Shower!" He then kicked his leg forward to send water up, though he wasn't a water user. His right hand launched forward as he sent his lightning element through each droplet of water, causing the to separate.

In that next second, the lightning enhanced water collided with the explosive kunai, which caused a great explosion, leaving a large and wide plum of smoke.

"Come on, Mist-kun, I need you to use your eye powers." Mist heard Tenten voice from behind the smoke. "I've already noticed that you are going relatively easy on me than you would go with Kai-sama." He listened to her. "I need you to use your eyes so I can feel that you respect me as a ninja." After hearing this, Mist didn't give it second thought as the sclera of his left eye slowly faded to red with the blue horizontal stripes at the outer edge of his eye. It wasn't his intent to use his eyes anytime during this spar, knowing Tenten didn't know he was alot more efficient than he was with it now than he was when he first started training. Hopefully he could hold back, because he knew the girl would definitely be unable to touch him.

In that moment, Tenten smiled inside the smoke cloud, leaping from it with twin sai in both her hands. As she darted straight toward Mist, she had both the knives pointed at his chest as she closed in, but what she didn't expect was for Mist use his right forearms and shift it upward at precisely the right time and cause her hands to go over his head.

Without any hesitation, launched at her as he gripped the collar of her dress and slammed her on the surface of the water, though he softed the impact for her by placing his right hand behind her head and his left hand around her back, causing only a small ripple of water to be produced. He stood over the girl with his left leg on her right side and his right leg on her left side. His body was leaned over, eye to eye with her, holding a miniature version of his portal in his right hand. "Tenten, let me show you something." He said to her as the girl simply blinked watching a he turned the small portal in his hand to see that it was a thin a paper. "These things I use with my eyes have a variety of uses such as me getting from one place to the other, though I can only get my portal appear in places I've been and if I try to make a portal appear in a place I've never been, I have a safe bet that I won't need to be worrying about making any for a long time. Understand?"

At this, Tenten nodded.

"I can also use it as a gateway to a genjutsu, though I rarely use those." He said to her. "And they can also be use to cause physical harm." As he said this, he slowly brought the small portal down and to the water near her head, though once it got a mere two inches away from it, the water began to separate, avoiding the sharp edge of the portal as if it had a disease. He then stepped from over her and offered the girl a hand.

Tenten nodded and took his hand as he pulled her up to her feet.

When she was fully up to her feet, Mist took a step away from and showed a small smile. "I can also see speeds up to Mach 2 with this, though my mother said my eyes may have multiple levels like the Sharingan and it will later increase in powers." He took her right hand in his with a nod of his head. "I am trusting you with this information, Tenten...can I trust you?"

"Of...of course, Mist-kun!" Tenten exclaimed, hugging the boy with a smile on her face, happy that Mist-kun was actually comfortable with sharing something with her. If this kept up, and her and Mist's relationship continued to grow, she would be dating the boy by time they got back to participate in the Chunin Exams.

Returning the hug, Mist smiled softly as he squeezed the girl in a ginger fashion. Much like Kaiya and Asa, this girl was also another he needed to keep happy in this Ninja world. He was always progressing in strength and he would protect them no matter what. And it smart to keep up his embrace if the girl, knowing she was not the type to forget they were currently in a training session.

**End**

**Aisugakure no Sato literally means Village Hidden in the Ice**

**So, there it is, the next chapter. This becoming really fun writing for Tenten, because, throughout the Naruto series, she doesn't get too much play from any of the Canon characters. I remembering a episode where Tenten thought that Sasuke was just her type, so I made someone that was just a bit like him and just for Tenten. One reason I really did this was because I saw that Tenten didn't have no husband in chapter 700 and looked bored because of it. That is her real reason she was bored...because she wasn't getting no diuugh.**


	6. Prologue Pt 6

The will be a serious name change in this chapter and it will be from Mistiltien to Kibou due to plot reasons.

**The Route to Enlightenment**

**Prologue**

"And I want you to be on your best behavior." Asa explained as she looked up to the seventeen year old Mist. Currently, the two where standing at the far left of the entrance of Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The sun was high and welcomed the new day, which greeted the temporary with a warm embrace, showing them that the cloaks to keep them warm would only be need when they crossed over to Yuki no Kuni. They were prompt to leave and begin their mission, but she felt she needed to see Mist off for his first A-rank mission. And she wanted to be sure there wasn't anything wrong with the both of their relationship since the event that transpired yesterday.

Mist stood there in front of his surrogate mother, looking down on her with a simple nod of his head. The boy wore his usual red hoodie Asa had made for him, but instead of his cargo shorts, he now wore pants that mimicked Kakashi Hatake's with bandage and his holster wrapped around his left thigh and a item pouch strapped to his left hip. He also wore the same green backpack on his back that contained a change of clothes and a few sealing scrolls.

Asa smiled up to the boy that was now taller than her. She wanted Mist to be successful on this mission, and she wanted him to show Kakashi, Sakura, and his secret admirer, Tenten, the fruits of his training. She had put the boy through vigorous training that would measure up to the training that she endured in her younger Pre-Anbu days. Though it took her five years of training from Tsunade-sama to reach the rank of a Anbu Captain at the age of sixteen. It was so strange that she had only been eleven nineteen years ago and Tsunade-sama was thirty-two. Time surely did fly.

But besides that, she had threw in five years of training into one month, hoping that Mist would be able to maintain the obnoxious amount of chakra use. Though he succeeded at it, he lost his control at the end. There was no doubt in her mind that if he was to go against anyone in the Chunin Exam, he would come out on top. "And I want you to respect Kaka-kun...he's a friend and close ally from my Anbu days. He taught me a lot."

Mist hummed at the woman, raising his brow at the name she had used. He kinda had a guess on who had been donned with that nickname, but his curiosity wanted him to be one hundred percent sure. "And...who is that exactly?" He inquired.

Lifting her left hand to point past him, she looked to the other side of the large gate.

Following the direction her hand was pointing, her slowing turned clockwise and his eyes locked onto a man talking with Sakura and Tenten with grey, gravity defying hair that swooped up to the left. At most, the man stood at least two inches taller than him, having the bottom half of his face covered by a dark blue mask and his Konohagakure headband pulled down and over his left eye.

Smiling, Asa continued. "The guy right there, the one that gave you the pants for this mission." She finished, placing her hands on his shoulders to face her one again. As Mist faced her once again, she just stared back up at him, searching his face only to find his lack of eexpression. Shaking her head, she then nodded. "He was my partner as Anbu Captains in the past, so he is trustworthy and a strong ally."

Mist nodded to her. "Okay." After he said this, he began to turn, Asa grabbed his arm and pulled him into a hug, which visibly shocked him. His eyes were wide, her hug wrapping around his arms so he could barely move."I love you, Mist," Asa smiled, her right hand on his chest. This caused his eyes to lower. She then pushed the boy away to his temporary squad. "Go show 'em what you got." She said and put her right hand on her hip.

Stumbling a bit, Mist stared at her for a few seconds, nodding to the woman a he smiled. "Love you, too, Asa." He said and did a heel spin and jogged over to his team, waving to them.

Watching him, Asa let out a reassuring sigh at how this meeting had went. She was genuinely happy about it. A half of her assumed that Mist would dismiss her due to the event that occurred the previous day. This meeting could have gone any way, but a smiled crossed her face at the way it had gone instead. She watched as the group exchange a few words, each of them speaking to one another, donning smiles across their faces, though she couldn't tell with Kaka-kun. After their words had been delivered, they began to make the way out of the village, sending a wave toward her, but Kakashi had sent her a nod with his ever so dull eyes. Though Kakashi was a good friend of her's, she wasn't too sure about Mist going on a mission with him. She was sure that Kakashi would waste no time in telling Mist about who the boy really was, snd what role he played. Koichi was a friend and ally during the the Third Shinobi War and Kakashi had told him he would find the boy named Kibou Jitsugetsu. And Mist fit the description, but she hid this analysis from him, knowing what would go through his mind.

As they departed from the village, Asa closed her eyes as the smile stayed present across her face. She was surprised that Mist had actually said it back...and he hadn't shown any hesitation. He was becoming more and more comfortable by the time he wa-"Did you tell him?"

Sighing, Asa performed a full 180, facing the woman who trained her when she was younger. Opening her eyes, she was met with the sight of Tsunade-sama walking from some bushes, her hand placed on her hip. Though she was her superior, Asa had remained quiet, eyes drifting away from the woman.

"You should've told him when you had the chance." Tsunade told her as she closed her eyes and shook her head. Releasing a sigh, Tsunade continued. "Its almost time for the Chunin Exams...I would rather see your boy rank up, but the Chunin Exams will be attracting an excessive amount of attention from the participating villages, which will have him in the spotlight of the Akatsuki and I would rather have Mist safe than captured by Itachi..." She said. "If I'm right about last night's grave robber's, they knew exactly who Koichi was and now wields his eye. They know who..." Lifting her hands, she made quotation marks in the air. "'Mist' is and Kibou Jitsugetsu is his moniker."

"I know...and I understand."Asa said. "But were you there that whole time, Tsunade-sama?""Don't worry." Tsunade waved her off. "I'm sure that the only one that could have spotted me was Kakashi."Asa stayed quieted. She wasn't giving none of them credit...especially Mist...or Kibou, in this case.

Walking in the middle of the group, though he was a few paces back with Kakashi ahead of the group, Mist eyes had been cocked to the left corner of his socket, staring toward the back, wondering as the moved further and further away from the village. 'Why was Tsunade there?' He asked himself, his red eyes holding a certain uncertainty within them. Letting his eyes shift around, he analyzed his two teammates at his sides: Tenten to his left, then Sakura to his right. It seems they had not noticed; that was evident to him.

"So, this is your second A rank mission, Tenten?" Sakura asked the girl with the twin buns in her head.

This seemed to snap Mist out of his thoughtful stupor.

"Yep, Sakura-chan," Tenten started, a smile across her face. "The first I was on Lee-kun and Guy-sensei had suggested going on." she chuckled, waving her hand as she let out a sheepish chuckle. "You know them...too energetic to not agree to something they have been challenged to do."

Sakura chuckle in Tenten's expense. "Sorry to hear about that.""It's nothing really." Tenten sighed and turned her head from Sakura and looked forward. "It really feels good being away from the two of them for just a bit."

Chuckling a bit more, Sakura nodded, pointing her finger ahead to Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei can understand your pain first hand." She informed the weapon specialist.

"Oh, yeah..." Tenten said out in a thoughtful tone. "I've heard at least a thousand times that they are eternal rivals, or something, since the time they both were in the Academy."

Sakura nodded at this, never noticing the sickly look crossing the Jonin's face as he released a groan."I just think," Tenten tapped her chin in thought. "Guy-sensei must've been jealous because Kakashi-sensei is so cool."

Hearing this, Kakashi looked over his left shoulder and to them. "Cool?" He repeated, questionably. "What do you mean?"

Turning to Sakura, Tenten nodded in understanding to why Guy-sensei had been so obsessed with being Kakashi-sensei rival. "Yeah, I can see why." She confirmed and this only caused Sakura to giggle into her hand.

"I know...he's a bit oblivious to it." Sakura smiled to Tenten, then turned her head a bit more and used her thumb to point backwards to Mist. "Just like that one."

"Wha...?" Mist blinked a few times in confusion.

Looking back also, Tenten blushed just a bit, but nodded in agreement with Sakura. "You can say that again." She snickered.

"Huh? Say what?" Mist pushed, wanting to know what exactly thet were talking about and why they mention him of all people.

Sakura and Tenten just looked at one another and laughed into their hands. Through squinted eyes, they nodded. "Agreed."

As they chuckled in his expense, Mist continued to blink in confusion. Girls confused, and they completely bewildered him when they were around one another. It made him uncomfortable to the point where a small blush covered his cheeks in embarrassment. Shaking his head, he proceeded forward and walked through the middle of the girls, walking on the right side of the taller, grey haired man.

Using his peripheral vision, Kakashi Hatake, the Jonin Captain of the mission, noticed the boy at his side, shifting his right eye down to the boy. "Mist, are you prepared for the mission?" He asked the boy, reading his face, noticing the discombobulated look across his face.

"Yes." Mist confirmed with a nod. "I've only completed C and D rank missions, so this will be a new experience for me."

"It should." Kakashi gave the boy a eye closed smile, which he blinked at. "With my original Team 7, Sakura had went to Yuki no Kuni on a mission that was classified as an A rank, and I know it changed her for the better." He said as his vision shifted to look at the pink haired girl who spoke with Tenten.

Mist eyed the man, a contemplative look on his face. Clearing his throat, his mouth opened as he spoke. "I don't want to overstep my boundaries, Kakashi..." He began as the man's vision returned to him. "But, Team 7, what happened to it exactly?" He asked nervously.

Kakashi looked over the boy as they continued on the water to the port where a boat should be waiting. He already understood that Tsunade would be placing this boy on Team 7, though it wasn't public knowledge. But if this did occur, he would find out what happened soon enough, so telling him would get him in gear for what was to come. Looking straight into the boy's blood red eyes, something came to the front of his mind, which caused his eye to widen in realization. It was like this boy was staring right into his very being, deciphering if he was friend or foe, though it wasn't as simple as that. It was more like he was balancing out the Yin and Yang within his body to see his. Though it seemed to completely absentmindly. 'So, this is who you meant, Koichi?' He hummed to himself in thought. "But first..." Kakashi started as he took a quick peek behind to see the two girls were still talking.

Raising a brow, Mist continued to stare at Kakashi in a questioning way.

"Let me tell you a little story." He said, which caused Mist to nod in confirmation. "Over two centuries ago, there was an Ancient clan named the Jitsugetsu, a large clan that was located at the edge of the Hidden Nations within Jitsugakure no Sato." Receiving a nod in understanding, Kakashi continued. "This clan had been renowned in its use of Genjutsu, Fuinjutsu, and Ninjutsu, being the founder of most seals of this age." He said. "Though one thing they were spoke for was there eyes...a purported addition to the legendary three Dojutsu: the Heiwagan, the eye of hope."

Mist listened to the story the man told him. He had heard from Asa that there were already three Dojutsu: The Sharingan, Dojutsu of the Uchiha clan, the Byakugan, Dojutsu of the Hyuga clan, and the Rinnegan, a eye that was wielded by a man named the Rikudo Sennin. A past God. "But...this Jitsugetsu clan, what actually happened to them?" He asked, noting that Kakashi used 'was' when speaking of them.

Turning his head forward, Kakashi closed his eyes, letting out a soft breath. "Through the years, more and more of them began to mysteriously disappear until there was only a small fraction of them remaining. They had been weak from a past even, those who weren't proficient in the use of their eyes split off and went into hiding, while a few stayed back and fought." He informed. "Though they ultimately went missing."

Eyes still looked on Kakashi's face, Mist seemed a bit intrigued with his explanation on this clan. "How do you know about this?"

Going into his memories, Kakashi opened his eye and lokked down to the right and at Mist. "I had an ally in the Third Shinobi War who was apart of that clan." He said as his eye shifted to look up to the sky. "He was threatening intellegent with an IQ over two hundred and fifty. His name was Koichi, a man who used his eyes to see the light in the future. He had the raw ability to control Yang chakra and he used it to show me the brightest future of this shinobi world, explaining that he was once in a vision, though it had changed when he left his village." He continued. "He was one of the three Children of Prophecy, but he was replaced." Lowering his eyes to level with Mist, he stared directly at the boy. "'Someone with eyes as mine, able to see through Yin and Yang. This boy will balance out both the other Children of Prophecy. Kibou Jitsugetsu.' Those were the last words he spoke, before his death."

Mist caught on very quickly and never hesitated. There had to be a reason why Kakashi was telling him this. "His eyes...what color were they. I want know." He asked, a bit of venom leaking off each of his words.

"He was referring to you, Mist, you are Kibou Jitsugetsu."

"No...no..." Mist stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes as wide as saucers.

Him stopping caused Sakura to run into his back, causing the girl to gasp in shock, stepping away from him, catching Tenten attention.

Kakashi full body was turned to the younger boy, both had in his pocket, understanding what the boy was feeling. He had been briefed from Asa about his situation.

Standing there in shock, Mist couldn't move. Was it all a lie? His life back in Nevada...was that not his? Those fake looks he received from those ignorant people. He pieced together everything Kakashi told him and he was unable to believe what he was told. If he was a Jitsugetsu, it meant he was apart of this world from the start and he was actually a foreigner to the past life he lived. 'So...am I Kibou now...is that who I really am?' He asked himself. 'I have a role to play out here...Who were they? Why did Ma and Grandma lie to me for so long...? Mistiltien...' His eyes squeezed closed. 'This name...it's not my real name...what should I do with it?'

Tenten stared at Mist, a look of concern across her face. "Kakashi-sensei, is Mist-kun okay?"

Kakashi let his eye close. "Told him the truth about himself and who he is." he explained, not even sparing Tenten a glance. "A clan member of his told me about Mist a long time ago and the role he would play, and now I wait to see his resolution...he has a choice in this world and his choice could effect us greatly." 'The burden of this world on his shoulder...or will he dismiss all things I told him and live his life ignorant of his vital place.' Finishing this in his thoughts, Kakashi crossed his arms. Thanks to his late ally, he had a glimpse into future to see that It was possible that the two other Children of Prophecy was both Naruto and Sasuke. So, he now understood Koichi when he told him of the three Children of Prophecy: Naruto as Yang and Sasuke as Yin, having Kibou as the counterbalance with being both Yin and Yang.

Sakura and Tenten looked to one another in confusion, though their attention were quickly drawn to Mist as his head hung.

"Kibou, huh?" Mist chuckled and lifted his head. "If you want tell a story, start with your name." His eyes locked into Kakashi as he grinned, showing his teeth. Lifting his right hand, he grabbed the top of his hair at the 'roots' of his dreads, Kakashi watching him intently. Sending chakra through his hand, he pulled his hand up to show that his dreadlocks were actually a wig, which caused his natural raven black hair to fall straight down to his lower back. Tossing it aside, he smirked and smooth his hair with his hands, hiding his right eye with a long bang that stopped at his lips. "Now I understand why my hair is like this..."

All confused, Sakura was the one to ask everyone's question. "Um..." She tilted her head to the side with a hum. "So...your hair was a wig?"

Using his left hand, Mist shifted the bangs on the left side of his forehead behind his ear. "Synthetic." He answered as he turned to Sakura. "It was attached to my real hair, but now that I have learned the truth about myself, I will go on without that name and will be known as Kibou Jitsugetsu from now on." He said and began to walk in the direction they were headed before he stopped. Waving backward to Kakashi. "May I hear the other story now."

Kakashi hummed and nodded as he began to walk in the direction Mi- Kibou walked in, shoving his hands into his pockets. He chuckled a bit, separating from Sakura and Tenten.

Standing there in silent shock at what she had seen, Sakura just looked at the back of the boy, eyes widened. "Did you see that," She turned her head to the right to Tenten, though she gasped at seeing the girl with her eyebrows turned upward in concern. "...Ten...ten...?" The girl had a haplessly look of pure bliss, a large blush across her face with her lower eyelids turned upward.

Cupping her cheek with her hands, Tenten stared at the back of Kibou at the newly reformed male walked away while speaking with Kakashi-sensei.

(**Scene Change)**

Yuki no Kuni, otherwise known as the Snow Country, a place known for it's harsh weather conditions and it's snowy appearance. Though that had changed a few years in the past when Team 7 had been assigned to escort a woman by the name of Koyuki Kazahana, an actress...a renowned one at that. Naruto had changed the weather problem so that the climate would change during the spring. But, at the moment, it seemed that it didn't matter, the land being covered by piles and piles of snow, the weather seeming a bit harsh with it heavily snowing. The clouds covered the sky, making it partially impossible to spot the sun behind them.

Deep into Yuki no Kuni was a dark forest, littered with snow being also the only and hidden passage way to Aisugakure no Sato. This passageway was hidden by a Genjutsu that was usually subjected to those of not the Aisushawā clan and those from neighboring countries, which still meant those that had not the blood of a Aisushawā. When measured, if not caught within the Genjutsu, it would take ten minutes until a large dome completely made of ice came into view. Roughly, it was the size of Konohagakure no Sato with two entrances/exits being guarded by two heavily, white clothed guards. The guards wore white, thick hoodies with snow white fur around the edge. Over their foreheads they wore white clothed headbands with the insignia of three ice shards aligned side by side.

The entrance that was being guarded by the forest had a large, wooden door that could be seen as outward opening doors. Though the inside was style with traditional narai juru, Nara, and Hikone styled buildings, snow was still present within the village, but it was evident that the pathways were still could be seen that those within the village were well adapt to the weather conditions, wearing light clothing, all in high spirits. Most chatted nicely, scattered shouts of children playing and restaurants in business.

Toward the edge of the village was one of the larger, more dignified building that was almost similar to a shinto shrine with two large tag falling down both sides of the entrance with had the kanji 'アイス' going vertically downward, which stood for ice. Within the building was the maIn hall of the building with row of ten men on the left and right to create a aisle for a man, a woman, and a small girl with a mass of hair.

The man sat on his knee in the middle of the two females. He was a man with a large physic and very masculine feature. He has snow white colored hair that is partially slicked backwards, though it began to curve upward in a spiky appearance. He has sharp and sternly set eyes that hold a icy cold cyan color. The woman on his left was a lot smaller than the man with icy white skin and a heart shaped face, wearing a beautiful white and cyan kimono with a cyan obi. She has snow white hair that is cut short with large, radiant cyan eyes.

Lastly, the girl on right was a lot smaller than the two, maybe the age of twelve or thirteen years old. Much like the woman, she wore a kimono that resemble her's greatly, though there multiple cyan colored flowers. Her hair was very long, almost outrageously long being snow white. It was folded at least four time and clipped to the hair that was at her neck, but the humps still reached her lower back. She has bangs all across her forehead and bangs framing her face that reaches her shoulders. Though the most distinctive feature about her wasn't her hair, but her milky white eyes with vertically slitted pupils. Though she mimicked her mother in in her face, her eyes were stern like her father.

Sitting in silence for a bit more, the woman look over to the right and at the larger man, looking to him in a contemplative way. "So, dear..." She began, drawing the man's attention toward her. "Are you sure about this?" She asked the man.

He simply grunted and nodded at the woman's question. "I am sure." He said, his eyes shifting over. "She is the reason our ice chakra is unable to be utilized." The man informed his wife. "She absorbs our chakra with each use, which causes that thing to be let free, so our treaty with Suna has come into play: the delivery of the Aisushawā heiress."

"But-"

"The squad we hired from Konoha is to be here by dawn...though we aren't going to know when that will be due to Mizuchi and the chakra Hitomi gathers." The man spoke. "Hitomi knows her sacrifice and she agreed to being under the care of the new Kazekage."

Watching the man, the woman eyes lowered, feeling a bit indifferent about the plan. She knew that they were vulnerable to the group of people attempting to capture her for the power of the dragon Mizuchi. They requested the Leaf's finest to escort Hitomi from Yuki no Kuni, so she was sure she would arrive in Kaze no Kuni unharmed.

**(Break)**

It was beginning to darken and most of the crew on the ship was heading to sleep, leaving the captain of the boat awake and steering the boat. The boat had departed from the dock approximately a half an hour before the sun had began to set. It was about that time anyways for his crew to get some rest. It would be a calm night in his eyes...sailing smoothly on the surface of water...letting the ocean waves relax him. It was came and silent, puffing on the cigar in his mouth, blowing his into the air as he chuckled to himself in a hearty way. He grinned. "The sea mistress has began to persuade me." His gruffy voice was enough to crack glass.

"Seems like you're having fun."

"Huh..." The captain heard a familiar voice and turned his head over to the left to see Kakashi Hatake walking up the steps that led to his level. He smiled widely. "Oh, Kakashi, welcome." He waved the grey haired man over. "Come sail with me."Kakashi chuckled sheepishly with his eye closed.

"Al...right..." He said awkwardly as he walked up and stood on the side of the , the man looked over to his left at the man. "Been awhile since I saw you last time." The man said with a chuckle.

'Yes, at least three years." Kakashi looked to the man and nodded. It had been two a year and a half since Naruto and Sasuke had left the village, so he could tell the experience would be a lot different from that time. "Back then, Naruto and Sasuke tagged along and changed Yuki no Kuni by defeating Dotō Kazahana."

"Yeah...where are the two of them now?" He asked, his his eyes shifting over to the left. "Sakura's here, but I can't see the other two."

Kakashi only stared at the man for a few second then shook his head. "Sasuke...Sasuke abandoned the village a year back in search for power." He began, drawing the captain's undivided attention. "Naruto went after him...but...but he failed."

Turning his attention back to the sea, the captain closed his eyes, releasing a sigh in understanding. "I understand." He said. Looking back to Kakashi out the corner of his eyes. "So, where're they now?"

Kakashi looked back out to the sea with his hands in his pockets. "Well, Naruto's off training with one of the Legendary Sennin...and Sasuke...I'm guessing he is too...with Orochimaru."

"Hm." The man let out deep hum, stroking his beard that matched Kakashi hair in color. "Ironic, huh?" He questioned. "But Naruto'll bring Sasuke...I can guarantee it."

You sound certain." Kakashi eyed the man.

"I believe light always conquers darkness." He said with no hesitation. "It's Yin and Yang; the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows, though if the light is bright enough, it may have a chance at extinguishing the dark." He chuckled even more then looked to Kakashi with a smirk, puffing on the smoke more. "But what of your new boy, huh? He continued.

"What do you mean? " Kakashi asked, tilting his head a bit.

"The one with the girly hair." He added.

"Oh, him..." Kakashi put a hand on his hip. "He's actually a Jitsugetsu...the only known wielder to date of the eye of Hope."

"The Heiwagan!" The man nearly shrieked, stepping away from Kakashi, eyes widened in disbelief. "But the Jitsugetsu clan has been extinct for over a hundred years, and those that did live should be dead." He began, though the though of cross breeding did come to mind. "So, if he is the last one..."

"He is the host and chosen one for their Shrine Maiden, Uzume Otsutsuki-sama."

**(Scene Change)**

As the boat flowed, ripples in the water could be seen. On the side, a hand poked up from the water and clasped onto the wood as another one came up to show a blue haired man crawling up the side. Over his chest was a type of black armor with a yin and yang symbol in the middle and on his shoulder. Looking to the right and left, he nodded to other with the same armor that was also climbing up the sides of the boat.

**(Scene Change)**

"It's really going to be interesting once Naruto returns in a year or so." Kakashi mentioned as the man chuckled. "I've seen Kibou in action at least once and maybe he'll be a influence in Naruto's training."

"Well, I just hope your squad get thr-"

Suddenly, Kakashi threw his hand over the man's mouth then pulled the portly man down to a crouching position.

The looked to Kakashi with a perturbed look. "Hey, what're you doin?" The msn asked.

"Do me favor." Kakashi spoke in a hushed tone. "Wake my team. Tell them the ship is being boarded an-"

"So, what do we have here?"

Kakashi and the captain looked up to see a blue haired man with green eyes standing over them, hands on his hips. His eyes narrowed, noticing the chakra armor he wore just like those ninja in the past. He also noticed there were also two men each standing at his sides, all wearing the chakra armor.

"The Copycat Ninja Kakashi Hatake." A smirk crossed the man's face. "I can see why the boss wanted use to make a preemptive strike."

**(Scene Change)**

In her pink pajamas, Sakura lifted from the futon she had been sleeping on, her eyes lowered and blurry. Her lips smacked, bag under her eyes as she looked around and at the forms of the sleeping Kibou and Tenten. Ignoring them, she stepped over the long haired boy, stumbling just a bit. Recovering, she began to make her way toward the door and slid it open when she made it. Closing it behind her, she looked left and right, wondering where she could possibly get some water. Proceeding down the left end, listening to her , after awhile, she began to hear footsteps that was not her's and this caused her eyes to become alert, her eyes shifting to the right. Soon, the steps got closer to her and her movements quickened, though she began to channel chakra within her limbs.

'Three. Two. One.' Timing it correctly, she spun around in a counterclockwise fashion with her right fist cocked back. "CHAAAA!" She yelled out and launched her fist forward, but she gasped once her fist was caught. Blinking a few times, she saw a man just a inch taller than her with her fist in his hands. "How'd yo-"

"That was pretty strong." The black hair, pale skinned complimented, but tapped his chest and to show he wore the armor the armor she remembered all to well. "If I wasn't wearing this, I don't I would be walking anymore." He informed. "And don't worry about your friends back there...they should be dealt with by now."

Sakura's eyes widened, but jerked toward the man as he pulled her, though she had clinched her fist as she gripped the man's forearm with both her hands, spinning and tossing him down the hall.

The man soared, but flipped, correcting his body as he slid on the wood.

Sakura stood in her spot, getting into a strong stance.

Back in the room where Sakura had left Tenten and Kibou, the eyes of the darker skin boy opened searching the room after that yell woke him from his slumber. His eyes searched the room as his mouth began to open, but a bandaged hand had been placed over it to silence him. He then could see a man on his knees over his head with his knees placed on his hands over his head, then a woman with golden blond hair sat on him, straddling his waist with a kunai in her right hand. He quickly got the gist of the situation and remained quiet, not wanting to frustrate the two of them before he could think of a plan to get him out of this.

"Ooooh..." The blond woman moaned out in a seductive manner, rubbing the kunai across the side of his cheek. "You really are a fetching young." The lavender eyed woman told him. "I'm really sorry that we have to kill you." She said and aimed the point of the knife directly at his left eye, barely poking it. "Orders are orders, ya know?" She winked at him, aiming the kunai at his heart, rearing it upward. "And next we'll kill that girl over there."

'I got it.' Grinning within his thoughts, he channelled his lightning nature through him hands. Just as she launched her hand down, he forced his body and turned it to the left, which caused the woman to let out a grunt, stabbing the wood below him. Sending charge of intense lightning through his hands, he attempted to electrocute the man, but nothing happened.

"That's funny, boy. " The man and woman chuckled as she plucked the kunai from the wood. "The armor we're wearing is made to absorb chakra." He said as he tapped his chest.

Letting out a chuckle of his own, Kibou nodded, seeing as he could speak once again. "Stupid." He said, causing the two to look down on him. "Thanks to Sakura..." He smirked. "I already know what that armor's about."

In that very instant, a ōtsuchi(a large wooden mallet) collided with the chest of the woman, sending her off Kibou and slamming into a wall.

The man that held Kibou down eyes widened and shifted to look at a girl in white pajamas holding a large mallet. "Wha- who-" Before he could finish, he had been kicked in his face by two feet from the boy flipping his lower body upwards. This sent the man flying through the door. Quickly leaping up to his feet, his right hand had been charged with lightning as he rushed to the unconscious woman and hit her directly in her chance with a straight jab with his fingers, destroying her chaka armor with a large crack through it.

As he finished with this, Kibou lifted to stand up straight and turned to see Tenten destroying the armor of the man he had kicked into the hall.

"C'mon, Kibou-kun, Sakura-chan could use some help." Tenten yelled as she ran in the direction Sakura was fighting a black hair man, dragging her mallet behind her.

Kibou nodded and ran out the room. 'What's happening?'

**(Scene Change)**

Another and then another body flew of the boat and into the water. Kakashi was making light work out of the guys that had found their way onto the boat. He hadn't even thought of using the Sharingan yet.

Swaying to the left, Kakashi dodged a jab, grabbing the man's right hand and pulled him closer, kneeing him right in his stomach, using his left elbow to hit him in the back of his neck. Eyes shifting to the left, he watched a man leap toward him with his body diagnol, spining in a clockwise fashion, throwing his right leg out, attempting to take Kakashi head off. Quickly, Kakashi shifted the body in his hands and used the man to be a shield. The kicked landed on the body, surviving it's purpose for Kakashi as he spun and delivered a straight kick to the stomach of the unconscious boy he used and sent it and the other man off the side off the boat.

He then ducked as a leg flew over his head. Thinking faster than the assailant, Kakashi used his right leg and kicked backwards and hit the foot of the man behind him, which caused him to fall down on one knee. Wasting no time, he lifted and spun in a clockwise fashion and kicked the man in the jaw, ultimately knocking him out cold.

Shortly after, Kakashi sent his elbow out to the right and stopped a fist dead in it's tracks to see it belonged to a woman. After blocking her strike, he sent a soul crushing punch to her appendix and caused her to double over and step backward. Saving no feelings, kicked her in her face, which caused the woman to lift up, clutching her nose with both her hands. Rushing her, he sent his palms out with a stiffened body, connecting with the centre of her chest and forced her off the boat.

Huffing as he saw another hand on the edge of the boat, Kakashi stepped backwards as a man tossed himself of the boat with a flying kick. In the split second it looked as if the flying kick was about to connect, he flashed away a appeared under the man's leg and grabbed his calf, and used the man's weight against him, pushing his leg upwards, which caused the man to go upside down. Quickly, he spun around and hit the man with the point of his elbow in the jaw, which ended with the man going limp and flying to the ground.

Steadying himself, Kakashi whipped a orange book from his pouch and tapped the toe of his sandle to the wood. Opening the book and staring dully to it as more of the men and women surrounded him, he sighed. "I could do this all day." He said. "Though I would rather not." He paused, his eyes shifting around. "I assume you don't want anymore of your men to fall." Was his assumption toward the blue haired man that simply from behind the steering wheel.

"Don't act too high and mighty, Hatake." The man told him with a smirk. "Their just getting warmed up."

Never putting his book away, Kakashi huffed, indicating that he had some sort of smirk of his own from behind his mask. "We are, too." As he said this, the assailant's eyes were drawn to the area high above the Copycat, watching a portal open up as Sakura, Tenten, and Kibou dropped down: Sakura landing in front of Kakashi as she got into a stance, Kibou landing diagonally to his left, and Tenten landing diagonally to his right, forming a triangle around him.

"Kakashi-sensei/Kakashi, are you okay?" Sakura and Tenten spoke with respect, though Kibou still held his mannerisms from his previous world.

Kakashi eyes never left his book. "I'm holding up." He said, but his head then lifted from the book to look to the man. "Last warning: leave and we can forget this."

The blue haired man eyes was focused on those teenagers that had just arrived. Which one of them was it that used that jutsu and what type of jutsu was that to begin with? He placed a hand on his hip, throwing his free hand out to the side. "I want half of you to fall back with me, but I'm leaving you a parting gift." He said and leaped of the side of the boat and into the water along with the other half.

There was twenty that were left behind and both groups stared one another down.

Kakashi still held his book in his hand as he hummed. "Kibou, you with me. Sakura, Tenten, you two handle half." At the order, the two girls nodded."Myself and Kibou will handle the other. And remember, no Ninjutsu. "

**End**


	7. Prologue Pt 7

Oh, damn...I haven't updated this in a bit. Hello to all who are still here to see how this unfolds, because I'm hoping to reach about the end of the series, skipping over the fillers and maybe one main arc, though I haven't decided. And the reason for me not updating this was because I had to do some research just in the case I screwed up, because Mist...well, Kibuo will be playing a larger part than the other side Naruto characters, but he'll be beside Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi.

I hope you all notice my new writing skills, too.

This chapter will revolve around the entire mission, so expect it to be very long. I did this because I wanted to introduce Naruto and get to Canon. I did this as like a little prologue before getting into the Canon so y'all could get a better understanding of my OCS

Disclaimer: Do not own the Naruto series, because I wouldn't be doing a made up story. I would be doing a spin off...just the ocs.

**The Route to Enlightenment**

**Prologue**

The blue haired man eyes was studying the three teen that arrived and stood by the Copycat Ninja's side. If they were still relevant at this time, this meant the men below he sent had failed, but beside the replaceable henchmen, his eyes had scanned the group, figuring out which one of them was it that used that jutsu and what type of jutsu was It to begin with? He placed a hand on his hip, throwing his free hand out to the side. "I want half of you to fall back with me, but I'm leaving you a parting gift to you and your team, Kakashi Hatake." He said and leaped off the side of the boat and into the water along with the other half.

There was twenty that were left behind and both groups stared one another down, the odds being placed against Team Kakashi.

Kakashi still held his book in his hand as he hummed. "Kibou, you with me. Sakura, Tenten, you two handle the other half." At the order, the two girls nodded. Putting the book away, he looked to the twenty enemies and sighed . "Myself and Kibou will handle the other. And remember, no Ninjutsu unless its a direct strike." He explained as he shifted and stood next to Kibou and placed a hand on his shoulder, which caused the boy to look to the left and up at the man.

Without any prior warning, the group of twenty men rushed the small group, some wielding weapons.

Looking to her right, Sakura nodded to Tenten, a serious looked plastered to her face, though she bore a smirk on her face. "I'll lead this one." She said and darted for the men that was well on their way to her. Her skills had improved immensely since she had last fought against these devices, so it was good to show Kakashi-sensei how much she had grown. "Chaaaaa!" She yelled and reared her right fist back.

Tenten had a confused look on her face as she re-summoned her large tan mallet in both her hands, sprinting behind her. "I'll support you then."

Doing the opposite of Tenten and Sakura, Kakashi and Kibou had pressed their back together and put up their guards, watching the other ten men close in on them.

Shifting his right eye to the right, Kakashi looked over his shoulder. "You ready for this?" He asked.

Watching as the first man got closer to him, Kibou clinched his right hand and cocked it far back as he launched forward with his mouth turned into a grin. "You wouldn't even understand." He said and shot his fist forward, clocking the first guy in the jaw, which had packed enough power to send him hurling passed his buddies and over the edge out the boat, splashing as he hit the water.

This had caused the men they were dealing with to stop, looking as if they were now having second thoughts due to the young boy dealing with one of them as if it was nothing to begin with.

Kakashi also showed a bit of shock from behind his masked, but the grey haired man smirked as he continued to look out the corner of his eye. In an instant, a image of Naruto's grinned had flashed into the front of him mind. It was true then...this boy was Yin and Yang, dark and light. He hummed as he turned his sights on the men that was in his lane.

Smirking, Kibou brought his fist back and got back into a guarding position as he eyed the now four men on his end. "Either you can go over voluntarily..." He clinched his fist tighter. "Or I'll just throw you over...along with the other one."

The men looked to the boy growling as he taunted them as if they were some low ranked shinobi. Choosing the more fallacious option, maybe arguably, the men charge the boy as the others charged Kakashi.

The two soon started stepping back as the men closed in, letting their backs hit each others, having this weird connection with one another as if they could read their next movements and work in tandem without thinking.

In that very instance, Kakashi and Kibou slid around in a counterclockwise fashion to swap spots, Kakashi swinging around with a back fist using his left hand, clocking the first man then spinning in a counterclockwise fashion as he lifted his left leg and brought around a heel kick as it connected with the jaw of the next man. All while Kakashi dealt with the first two, Kibou slid into Kakashi spot as lifted up his right leg and kick a tall man in his jaw, sending him spinning, knocking him to the door of the lower deck as he then leaped up and brought around the heel of his left foot and sent another where the other was at.

Continuing their momentum, Kibou landed with a spin as him and Kakashi slid once again in a counterclockwise fashion to swap spot once again. Gaining his previous spot, Kibou had been a guest to a barrage of punches and kick from the two men. He guessed his base eyes were becoming a lot stronger due to his training, because he was following their attacks, reading them like they were a book as he dodged or blocked them.

Also gaining his previous spot, Kakashi had sent a punch into the nose of the closest man and sent him flying over the edge, grabbing the right hand of a fist flying to him as he twisted the arm of the next man with his left hand, keeping a tight grip as he spun slightly in a clockwise motion, dragging the second man a bit and kicked kick the other in the gut, sending him out the boat. Spinning back around as he released the man's arm, he sent a swift kick to his abdomen, which caused him to be launched away and hit the spot where Kibou had kicked the other to.

As he continued to block and parry the strike, Kibou grew tired, slapping the fist of the man to the right as his fist collided with the man to his left nose, which caused him to step back as he clutched his nose. Before the man could show he was concerned, Kibou had grabbed his right arm, quickly twisting it, causing the man to front flip, prompting the dark skin boy to grip his arm, spinning as he tossed him into the other man and sent the two of them of the side of the boat.

After diffusing the situation on their side, Kakashi and Kibou turned to look at one another as the younger boy sent the older a nodded. Having no prior training with one another, the two were a bit surprised at what they had accomplished in such little time. He had not worked that well with someone since his time fighting alongside Asa in his Anbu Black Op days.

Kakashi gave the boy a eye closed smile, looking the boy over. "Seems that Asa-chan has trained you in the way Tsunade-sama had trained her." He said. Though this may have been true, he doubted he could exert as much strength as Sakura could.

"Yeah." Kibou agreed as he lifted his right hand and clinched his fist. "But I still got a long way to go before my eyes are to their peak." He said, causing Kakashi to hum at what he said. "I've done some research and the red screla isn't even the furthest it can go, and I know I can unlock the full this...I just need to push my-"

"It will come naturally." Kakashi interrupted the boy, seeing a likeness of Sasuke within him. "Just don't push yourself to hard." He said as Kibou nodded. "Power is not the best thing to seek, so keep your eyes as they are now."

Kibou stared up to Kakashi, not understanding what he meant, but he suddenly flashed back to before...when he had relayed to him the story of Team 7 and what had happened. Smiling softly, he nodded. "Of course...it'll increase when it needs to."

"Good..." Kakashi nodded back as he turned his head to the other side of the boat to see Sakura and Tenten had squashed the men on their side briefly after they had dealt with their as the was now dumping them of the side of the boat. He turned his head back to Kibou. "Guess we should do the same..."

Watching as Sakura and Tenten did this, Kibou agreed with Kakashi and began to clear the boat. As they began to clear their side, the dark skin boy tossed two unconscious men into the water, having a thought that they could breath due to the previous confirmation of that blue hair mailn leaping into the water.

Who would've thought his guess was right, the two men eyes fluttering open as they hit the water along with the others who were already swimming downward, deeper into the water. Deep down, further into the ocean was the sight of lights surrounding humongous clear glass ball that had miniature version it around linking to it. Though it looked plain, the inside was a luxurious white with sleek surroundings and it was pretty much a large maze. It was multiple exit, entrances, turn, and people around and it was quite a few before getting to the main hall, which consisted of white pillars leading down a aisle to a throne like seat with a silhouetted man sitting in it.

Soon, the sound of rapid footsteps were heard, which caused the man to look up to male with blue hair kneeling, head bowed. "Kentoro-dono."

The man sitting in the seat nodded. "You may speak...how did it go up there?" He asked, a logical voice coming from the man's mouth.

Opening his mouth, the blue hair began. "As you suspected, The Copycat Ninja is currently leading a small team to escort the clan heiress and he was able to defeat half of my squad singlehandedly." He explained.

"Is that all, Senji?"

Clearing his thought, the male looked up to the hidden man. "Well...um..." He began as he reflected on the moment, wanting to make sense of what he saw. "One of the brats the Copycat is in charge of had this strange ability where he or she made this thing and...I don't know how to explain it." He said. "The thing just opened up and three brats fell out."

The man that had been dubbed as Kentoro hummed as his eyes watched his kneeling subordinate, letting out "Interesting" in a mumble. "I want you to keep an eye on them and strike at the most opportune moment."

Senji nodded as he stood up to his feet. "Okay."

**(Yuki no Kuni, Dawn)**

Only a few hour prior to arriving at the dock, it had been a blizzard in a way that say no end in sight, which made the her a bit weary at coming out in the snow this early in the morning. Standing far to both her sides were men, dressed in heavy clothing, guarding her due to her position in Yuki no Kuni. The woman looked inpatient, both hands on her hip of her leather jacket, which reached passed her hips with fur all around the edges. Lifting her right hand, she flipped it over to the other side of her wrist to look at a new model watch her people had assembled some time ago. "Where are they at?" The long dark haired woman questioned herself, folding her arms over her chest. "They should have been here three hours ago." She sighed, facing the docks, peering out to the vast ocean.

The woman stared out to nowhere and beyond until her eyes began to blur, which caused her to lower her head and whip her forearm across her eyes to clear her vision. Letting out a breath, the woman calmed herself and relaxed her body, closing her eyes. She was just a bit excited because this would be the first she saw Naruto in the pass few years, so she was a bit overzealous in meeting him again.

"Hey, Koyuki-chan!"

The sound of the feminine yelled had caused the woman's eyes to open to see a boat closing in. Narrowing her eyes, the woman could see the color of pink and a waving hand as it became closer. Smiling, she waved back and leaped onto the dock and ran pass all the working men who was gearing up for the approaching boat. "Sakura-chan! Is that you?" She yelled back, stopping just a few feet from falling off the edged. As they closed in, Koyuki eyes had searched over the boat intentlt, finding Sakura was the first to be seen, all mature and wearing a tan color cloak. He eyes continued to search it to find Kakashi Hatake just a few feet behind her, wearing the same cloak that hid their arms, her eyes also spotting a female with twin buns and a dark skin boy that was clearly not Naruto with raven black hair hiding his right eye.

'Naruto's probably just below...' Mentally, Koyuki reassured herself, but this didn't stop her eyes from lowering at the sudden thought that Naruto was not with them. 'Its a pretty big boat.'

As the boat closed in, it pulled up on the side of the docks. Though before the boat could dock, Sakura was ever too eager and leaped on the ledge of the boat and leaped down to the dock, making a slow trot over. "Hey, Koyuki-chan." She greeted, stopping a few steps away from the taller woman.

"Oh, hey, Sakura-chan." Koyuki returned as she looked the pink haired girl up and down, noticing how taller the girl had grown since the last. "I can...I can see you've grown since the last time you were here." She said with a smile.

"Oh, yeah..." Sakura blushed a bit as looked down to her body, though it was hidden by the cloak. She lifted her fist and punched them together, showing a smirk. "I've also grown a lot stronger since that time."

"I can see this." Smiling, also Looking pass Sakura, Koyuki was keeping a eye out for Naruto, only to see Kakashi walking with those other two ninja walking toward her and Sakura. But she couldn't see Naruto. "What took you guys so long?" She asked.

"Um..." Sakura eyes shifted a bit. "We had a little interruption."

Koyuki hummed and tilted her head. "Interruption?"

Walking up to her with Kibou and Tenten at his sides, Kakashi gave the woman a eye closed smile. "Hello, Koyuki-sama..." He said, sending her a small wave as he stopped beside Sakura. "I've heard you became the Daimyō of this land." He mentioned. "How has it been on you?"

"Fine." Koyuki nodded. "Ever since I was admitted to this position, I've slowly been able to regain control of the lands." She said, lowering her eyes a bit. "Though, the natives are beginning to cause a uproar due to what has been happening."

Tenten hummed. "What do you mean?"

Koyuki looked to the new girl and explained. "First, I must get you to your destination, but I will explain on our way." She said as she turned, walking along the docks, letting Team Kakashi follow her into the snow, her bodyguard keeping a small distance from her. Though she didn't want to say anything, she noticed Naruto or that other boy from before was not with the group. The only one she recognized was Sakura and Kakashi Hatake.

After a few minutes of traveling, the small group trudged through the snow, Koyuki leading, the woman began to explain. "Okay...where do I begin?" She started, causing the group following her to look at the back of her head. "Let me start a few weeks after I became Daimyō." She said. "After the defeat of my uncle, and the snow had been cleared, I hired a few men to study those devices that had powered those individuals who work for Doto..." She continued. "There was a man named Kentoro Gomakashi. He was the leader of the men I hired to research the device, a genius compared to others. For a few months, it was non-stop research on those devices for the men, and for awhile, I thought the made a breakthrough...but it was more than that." She then paused.

"What happened?" Kakashi pursued.

"Kentoro had began underground manufacturing of the device, creating nearly one hundred copies of it, though he had made a few unique enhancements." Koyuki added.

"Enhancements?" Sakura questioned, wondering what she meant by it. With the fact that she was now stronger than those she fought with the armor, she couldn't tell that there was any enhancements.

"Yes." Koyuki nodded and looked over her shoulder to her. "With only a few exceptions, this new armor grows stronger and reacts to the user's chakra." She informed. "Most gain the ability to breathe underwater while some strength or endurance grows. Though Kentoro has exceeded this and has grown in all aspects once he placed the armor on himself." With that, she looked back forward. "The only other thing that we have learned from the device after securing one is that it eats the chakra of the user over time."

Walking in the back of the group, Kibou listened to what the woman had been explaining to the team, prompting him to ask "What exactly happened to the man?" He asked, maybe being the first to think of this aside Kakashi.

Koyuki looked over her shoulder again and passed everyone to the dark skinned boy she had not recognized, but his red eye had unsettled her to a certain extent. Facing forward, she answered the boy. "After a few scouters ran into a few of his men, I had been relayed to that he has some sort of underwater civilization or dome."

"Underwater dome?" Kakashi repeated, mind racing a bit as he remembered how they had got onto the boat and how they exited. "What does he plan on doing?"

"That is where your team comes in..." Koyuki began. "You'll be protection to the clan heiress." She said, her eyes lifting to see a forest coming into view. "But I'll save that for Yosui-sama to elaborate." Leaving them hanging, she stopped, causing the team to stop in sync with the woman.

Kakashi, looking in front of them, feeling a weird presence, placed his hands in his pockets. "So, what is this?" He asked as his eye shifted from left to right. "Some sort of Genjutsu?"

At him asking this, the teens looked over the area, Sakura and Tenten not understanding what Kakashi had meant, but Kibou glared forward in a attempt to make what he was sensing clear to him.

"Precisely." Koyuki answered as she turned to face them. "It was designed to keep out none Aisushawā by a powerful Genjutsu."

"Huh?" Tenten let out in confusion. "How do they expect for us to get through this?"

Her eyes shifting to Tenten, Koyuki spoke. "Since hearing that the Sharingan user, Kakashi Hatake was on this team, they filed for him knowing the Dojutsu Genjutsu prowess." She said.

Staring at the woman, waiting for the joke to be over, letting out a soft chuckle, Kakashi closed his eye and scratched the back of his head. "Yes, the Sharingan has a renowned prowess in Genjutsu, but it has a weakness when caught in other Genjutsu."

Koyuki eyed the man few seconds as she took in what he had said to her. Placing her hands on her hips, she huffed as she began to think, but she shook her head. "This is where I stop...I must get back to the castle." She said and dropped her hands from her hips. "Maybe..."

"We do hav-"

Before Kakashi could continue, Tenten and Sakura spoke. "Ki-"

Before they could finish, they too were interrupted, Kibou paying no attention to their words, walking with his left hand fingers over his left eye with his fingers spread apart in a V so that they could see the sight of his screla fade to red.

Koyuki had saw this and flinched a bit. What in the hell was that.

Kibou's eyes shifted slowly as he scanned the area and broke down the Genjutsu with a component a part of his Kekkei Genkai that he discovered during training. If it was a trap Genjutsu like this one, then it was easier to do this, but if it was a manual Genjutsu from someone like Kakashi, it would take a lot longer.

Slowly, Koyuki looked to Kakashi with a concerned look, but he simply sent her a nod, which caused her to relax a bit.

Lowering his hand from his face, Kibou pointed forward into the forest, catching everyone attention, drawing their vision to the forest. "There a multiple laces of Genjutsu riddled chakra particle that are traced along the snow and trees...preventing travel." He said as he looked to everyone.

"Thank you." Kakashi nodded, turning his attention to the boy, placing a hand on his hip, seeing the look of amazement on Koyuki face out his peripheral. "Have you thought of anything to get up through?"

"Well...I've tried a technique against Asa, but it is imperfect at the moment." Kibou lifted his right hand and pointed his index finger into the forest as he walked passed the group, all eyes on him. The boy focused chakra to his hand as a small portal opened in front of his finger as everyone watched his display. "Nejiton." As he said this, the circle expanded to cover the forest then shrunk back to its original size and floated in front of his palm.

Her eyes wide, Koyuki was the first to ask "W-w-what did you do" in a very cautious tone.

Kibou turned and faced the group, holding the portal over his palm, showing the exact image that was in front of them. "Ever heard if alternate time lines?" He asked, letting her nod in response. "Well, there are hundred of them, some." He explained. "Using my Kekkei Genkai, I can swap out this reality with another that has no traps waiting ahead using a very advance distortion," He explained as his eye faded to normal, causing Koyuki eyes to widen even more. "Though I can only keep this up for four minutes before I exhaust my chakra reserves."

Coming back to her senses, Koyuki nodded then looked to the group. "It takes at least seven minutes through the forest, so you need to get going." She saud as Kakashi nodded. "If you guys need anything, just come to the castle before you leave."

"Will do." Kakashi nodded again and bolted into the forest.

Letting the portal vanish, Kibou looked to the woman wuth his scowl. "My name is Kibou Jitsugetsu, and it was nice meeting." Saying goodbye with a greet, he bolted off behind Kakashi.

"Okay." Koyuki smiled as she watched the boy disappear.

"And you can call me Tenten." Tenten said as she jogged passed Koyuki with a smile and a wave, dashing in the direction the other two left in.

Koyuki waved as the girl with the buns left, leaving Sakura. Her head turned to see the girl who had been very quiet since her only words a bit ago. The girl had her head lowered, a tear falling from her eyes as her hands trembled. Noticing this, she began to speak. "Sakura-"

"Their gone...Naruto and Sasuke. "

Koyuki step back at the sudden words and was pushed to the side as Sakura ran passed her without any other words. She watched the pink haired girl disappear into the forest, a look of concern on her face as she quickly put together the message behind those words. It caused her eyes to lower, figuring out that Naruto and that Uchiha male must be dead.

Transversing through the forest in a quick pace, Team Kakashi were silent, none of them swapping any words with one another since they began their venture. It was silent, only the mere sound of wind swoshing in their ears as they made their way toward Aisugakure, being sure not to waste any time in which Kibou Jutsu would where off, leaving the in the middle of the forest and subjects to the Genjutsu.

After he began running, Kakashi had already began timing it, keeping check of the time the jutsu was useful. He hoped his calculations were correct in the distance of the village and the time it would usually take for someone to make it through the forest. Moving at the speed they were, lessening the travel by three times, they should arrive at the village before his chakra would run out. Turning his head to the right, he looked over his shoulder to the dark skinned boy. "How are you holding up?" He asked.

"He should be fine." Tenten answered for the boy, gaining the attention of the two, causing them to hum. "Its been only a minute and half, so I guess we have enough time."

The two males nodded to her, Kibou smirking as she said this.

"Guess you've been paying attention to the time, too, huh?" Kakashi asked, nodding as he looked forward and back to the trail.

"Yeah." Tenten confirmed. "The powers of that Heiwagan thing is pretty interesting...even in its undeveloped state."

Smiling, Kibou looked to her as he continued to dash along with the group. "Thank you, Tenten." He said.

Listening to the group, Sakura had dried her eyes from before and watched Kibou with keen eyes. No matter what, he would play a part in retrieving Sasuke. If he was suppose to be a part of Team 7, then he would an asset to counter Sasuke's Sharingan.

Feeling her gaze, Kibou looked to his far left and to Sakura with a questioning look.

Just when his eyes had been locked to her's, Sakura facial expression had changed to one of a kind face, nodding to him, which the boy returned.

"But we must speed this up." Kakashi said as he clinched his fist. "In the case that we run out of time."

The three teens nodded, agreeing with their Jonin leader. "Yes, Kakashi-sensei/Kakashi." They said in unison as they sped up to save time.

**(Aisugakure no Sato)**

At the main entrance to the icy dome village, two gate stood watch, waiting for the team from Konoha to arrive, becoming a bit worried to how long it was taking them. There was a number of things that could occur to shinobi traversing through the Hidden Nations, so death could come into play at this time, which would mean there a hiring of another squad with a Genjutsu user. If they were able to arrive in Yuki no Kuni and wasn't able to get pass the trap effectively, then they would be labeled as deceased. Or maybe they never tried to get through it.

No matter the case, it was still both of the jobs to check on the trap.

The guard to the left of the entrance folded his arm over his chest, showing the irritation he had toward the moment. "So, whar are we to do now?" The man asked his partner.

His eyes shifted over, the other male hummed in response, a white mask over the lower half of his face. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean and I know you're thinking it too." The first man said, raising the other's curiosity even higher.

"I actually don't know." He said blandly.

"How about I spell it out for you then." The first man said with a grumble. "If a Sharingan weirder have trouble getting through the trap, who can we hire to escort Hitomi-sama to Suna?"

"I don't know." The man sighed. "Maybe..." The man had suddenly silenced as he felt four chakra signature closing in on the two of them. "Wait...I feel something." He said as four silhouettes could be seen sprinting toward him and his part.

The other man looked deep into the dark forest, hearing the sounds of feet stepping on snow, catching view of four individual heading straight for them. The only people he guessed it could be was the team from Konoha, and his assumption had been confirmed as a grey haired man, a dark skinned boy, a pink haired girl, and a brown haired girl slid to a stop.

Quickly, the guards noticed the headbands the four wore and depicted them as the team they had hire from Konoha.

Looking to his right, Kakashi nodded to Kibou. "Release the Jutsu." He told him.

Nodding in response, Kibou lifted his right hand to his face performed a single hand seal as he closed his eyes. "Release." He said, feeling his body relax from the use of the Jutsu, still not at the pinnacle to becoming a master of chakra master.

The two guards watched the boy to Kakashi right side, their eyes widening a few seconds later as a single thought ran through their head. "Did...did that boy break our Genjutsu." They asked simultaneously, a bit of amazemant on their faces.

At them saying this, Kibou began to open his eye.

Kakashi stared at the men, wondering if disbelief was a proper way to look at Kibou. "Not as much as broke it..."

The men looked to Kakashi as the man began, an awestruck look on theur faces, pointing to the dark skinned boy.

"More on the lines of replacing it for a short time." Tenten added, standing to the right of Kibou, smiling as she winked to the men.

"What..." The two men eyes shifted over to her in confusion.

"But it only works for at least four minutes." Sakura finished as she slapped the side of her fist into her right hand, causing the men to look at her. "Or so I am told."

"Uh..." The men was at a lost for words, unable to question how was the scientifically possible?

"Sorry for the confusion." Kakashi showed them a eye closed smile as he shifted his right hand over to Kibou. "As you know, I am Kakashi Hatake, this being Kibou Jitsugetsu." He said, aiming his hand to Tenten. "This is Tenten." He then lowered that hand and shifted his left hand and placed it on Sakura shoulder. "And this is Sakura Haruno."

Clearing his throat, the man with the face man regained his senses and stood with his usual posture. "Right. It is a pleasure, Kakashi-sama." The man nodded. "And we welcome you to our humble village." Ushering them to follow, the man turned his back to them and walked into the village. "Yosui-sama, our clan leader, wants you to meet with him immediately."

"Okay." Kakashi nodded as he followed the man around the frosty village, staying in the path. Though he was new to the village, he didn't waste no time in sightseeing as the teens behind him who were looking around in amazement, though Kibou did this in a more incognito way. "But...may I ask a question?" He asked, wondering if his slight suspicion were correct.

"Of course." The man encouraged as he shrugged.

Taking a sharp look around, noticing the high ceiling of the dome. "Is this a shelter?" He asked, causing the man's eyes to shift. "I feel a immense pressure of chakra radiating from all around and I cannot pinpoint the origin of it."

"Well..." The man began as he cut around a corner, not bothering the excitement of some of the children that was amazed to see people from another village. "It is made from chakra of our Clan head and his wife." He informed. "But it is slowly desolving due to the chakra being absorbed into the daughter of the two. By the day, it weakens from attacks from a attack a madman delivered to it some time ago, which only caused for the chakra to become unstable and dissipate and be absorbed at a much faster rate into the young heiress."

"By a madman? Do you know who it was?" Kakashi asked, interested to see if he could tie that Kentoro Gomakashi guy to this. It was a guess, but he was sure he could be tied to what happened.

"It was some man that had been hired under the Daimyō." He said. "He wore this strange armor and was able to walk through the forest without being harmed by our Genjutsu, which caused us to increase our Genjutsu strength when he figured out he was unable to break through."

"His name is Kentoro Gomakashi." Kakashi relayed to the man, sparking a hum. "A helping of his men attacked us on the boat ride over here." He said.

"I see." The man hummed to himself as the approached the main house of the Aisushawā clan. The man stood as and nodded to Kakashi, which told the man to enter up the steps.

Kakashi took a short look to his team behind him and nodded to them, receiving a nod back from them that told him that they were ready. Without hesitation, the grey haired man walked up the first and only step and pushed the wooden door open to see a row of men on each side of the room, creating an aisle wide enough for his whole team to walk side by side. At the end of the aisle, he saw a large and older white haired man sitting on his knees and in the middle of a woman with white hair and a younger girl with white hair.

"We have been expecting your arrival Kakashi Hatake and co." The man spoke. "Please come in."

Nodding, Kakashi walked in fully, him and his squad spreading so that they could start walking side by side as the door closed shut behind them. Sakura was still to his right, Kibou to his right and Tenten to his right. Reaching the end, coming close to the clan higher ups, the team stopped at least four feet from the as he bowed along with Sakura and Tenten, though Kibou continued to stand up straight.

Noticing this, Sakura head lifted and looked over to the dark skinned boy. "Show some respect, idiot!" She yelled in a hushed tone, showing her teeth. Her eyes softening, noticing the way she had spoke to him in the way she would speak to Naruto if he did something stupid like this. Was she really that comfortable being around him now?

"Respect?" Kibou repeated as his eye shifted over to her. "I do not know the man, so how can I respect him?" He asked.

"You don't need to know him; its tradition." Sakura growled.

"Hmph." Kibou huffed. "Not m-"

"Never mind it." Yosui shook his head as he cut them off from arguing. "Please, take a seat."

Following instruction, the four went down to sit on their knees as they looked toward the man, though Kibou took this chance and looked over each of the three that was sitting in front of him: the woman, the man, then the daughter, a very young girl with insanely long hair that was folded a few times to decrease the length and milky white eyes with slitted pupils.

Kakashi softly sighed at how they were embarrassing him in front of a clan leader, but he put the moment to the back of the head as he saw Yosui mouth open.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Kakashi Hatake." The man said, a deep and mature tone coming from his mouth. "I have heard of your abilities, stories even reaching my village."

Nodding in thanks, Kakashi appreciated the man's words and spoke. "Thank you, Aisushawā-sama." He expressed his gratitude. "I was a bit bewildered when I first her about this mission from Tenten and how you required me, but it is true that I have come here in the past."

"So I've heard." Yosui said and nodded. "We got word that a student of you was able to defeat Doto." He said and locked eyes with the only revealing eye of Kibou. "I heard it was a male, so I'm guessing it was you." He said, causing everyone's fall upon Kibou...even the daughter, though her sour expression never changed, staring secretly looking to the color of his eye.

Looking to the man with his single eyes, Kibou shook his head. "That was not me." He said. "His name is Naruto Uzumaki, and he is currently away." He explained.

"Oh." Yosui cleated his throat at hearing this, a bit disappointed at the information. "But let us get down to business." He said as he turned his attention to Kakashi. "Your mission is to escort my daughter, Hitomi Aisushawā, to Sunagakure no Sato." He began. "This is a simple escort mission which requires skilled shinobi capable of natural protection abilities. At most, the approximate time of arrival is measure from a day or two. Any questions?"

"Yes." Kakashi answered with a slight nod. "May I ask who we will be protecting you daughter from?" He asked. "I would prefer that my team didn't go into this mission blinded.

"Of course. It is only customary that I relay to you the dilemmas you may come to face during your travels?" Yosui said. "I will begin with my daughter Hitomi being targeted by a man and his lackeys due to her housing a Dragon spirit by the name of Mizuchi." He explained to the group. "On her tenth birthday, she had displayed abnormal signs, being relatively colder that other, attracting snow to this land once more, which caused our springs to once again be clouded by the never-ending umbrella of the clouds you see above you today. It was maybe only a year later when that man had been let go after manufacturing those devices Doto had come in contact with. He attacked our village and damaged the dome you see above. We guessed he was after the chakra she holds." He continued, not breaking eye contact with Kakashi. "Though as not as powerful as the Bijuu, the Dragon is powerful, able to extract all water and ice chakra, making our Ninjutsu useless."

Sakura sent a questioning look toward the man. "So, you decided to send your daughter to Suna to get rid of the Dragon?" She asked.

"That what it looks like to me." Tenten added, sighing as she shook her head. "But it may be a coincidence that Suna and Aisu have a treaty, or agreement, with one another since the past."

"You are correct, young one." Yosui said as he looked to her, acknowledging the knowledge she had on the situation. "After a failed attack at least seven years ago in order to capture the Shukaku Jinchuriki, we had agreed upon releasing my daughter to the Government of Suna. We promised to exchange the heiress to our clan to prevent a war from breaking out."

Kakashi brow raised at the man saying this. He knew about the underwhelming attack on Suna, but he didn't know of a agreement between both villages. "I see." He nodded. "Is there else we need to know: anything about your daughter?"

"The only thing that is of any importance is that skill has no significant training as a shinobi." Yosui answered. "But if you are to make good time, you should leave now."

"Okay-"

"Hey, you."

Hearing the voice of the daughter, everyone's eyes were drawn to the white haired girl who was pointing to the right of Kakashi. Seeing this, their heads followed the direction of her finger to Kibou, the boy looking a bit confused.

"What?" Kibou answered quickly, staring into the eyes of the girl.

The brow of the girl twitched at how he said it. "Do you have any manners?" She asked.

"Do you need anything?" Kibou dodged her question, sending her his usual catatonic stare.

"How rude." Hitomi sucked her teeth and turned her head away from him, her already stern eyes lowering a bit. Chuckling a bit as she turned back to him, she nodded to the boy. "You will be carrying me."

Kibou stayed quiet as he closed his eyes.

"Hey, did you hear me?" The girl asked with pure venom in her tone, crossing her arms over her chest.

Ignoring her, Kibou stayed quiet and keep his head turned away from her.

"How dare you ignore me?" Hitomi said, almost yelling at the boy.

Turning his head to her, Kibou just lifted his hand and put a finger over his lips. "I wouldn't have to ignore you if you stayed quiet." He said in a curt fashion.

The girl huffed and glared at the boy. "What insolence."

At the two's interaction, the rest of Team Kakashi just chuckled. It seemed Kibou didn't like to waste much time on children.

**(Aisugakure Exit)**

The team stood at the beginning over the forest, Kakashi standing with his hand on his hip as he looked into the depths of the trees, Sakura and Tenten having nonchalant chatter to the left of Kakashi, and Kibou wrapping the palms of his hands with bandages, attaching a piece of paper with summoning sketching across both.

Preoccupied with her own things, Hitomi stood in the back, facing her father, who was down on one knee to get eye level with her. In all honesty, she would miss this place, though the hard times she had to endure would hopefully be forgotten by time in Suna.

"Hitomi, I need you to listen to me for the last time." The man said, smiling a bit as his daughter nodded to him. "I want you to be strong through you journeys to come. Listen to whatever Kakashi Hatake say, because he'll be in charge of you getting to Suna." He explained as he removed a necklace from around his neck with a flexible Crystal encased chain and a clear Crystal snowflakes pendant. "I want you to have this as the heiress of our clan." He said, placing it around her neck, hiding under her kimono. "And please...know that I love you dearly." He said and pulled the girl into a hug.

Hitomi hugged her father back, a few random emotions surfacing, understanding what this meant and that she was leaving her home.

Releasing the hug, Yosui kept his hands on her shoulder. "Just remember, whenever you feel lost or in any doubt, look to the pendant and it shall clear the way. Understand?" He inquired.

"Yes, father." Hitomi said, closing her eyes for a bit, taking in the moment in front of her.

"Thank you." The said and stood up to his full height as he turned his daughter around to face the team that would be looking after his pride and joy. "Okay, Kakashi Hatake, she is ready to go."

Finishing up with what they were doing, the team turned to face the man, Sakura looking the girl up and down as she noticed the lack of luggage. "Um, excuse me, Aisushawā-sama..." She called out, causing the man to look at her. "Do she have any change of clothes? Its pretty cold out here." She said with a concerned look.

"Us Aisushawā are pretty adapt to these kinds of weather, so the cold is nothing to her." Yosui informed the pink haired Genin. "And plus, Kaze no Kuni have different decorum than our, so a quick change will come for her...the Kazekage promised."

"Okay..." Sakura said, no more questions evident for her eyes.

Lifting his right hand, Yosui made a single hand sign. "Before you leave, let me drop the Genjutsu to make travel a lot more easier for you." He said and whispered "Release".

"Thank you." Kakashi thanked.

"But let me tell you, once I sense that you have made it through the forest, the Genjutsu will become active once more." Yosui informed the group.

"I understand." Kakashi said. "Let's ge-"

"You," Hitomi lifted her right hand and pointed up to Kibou. "Long hair one."

Everyone's eyes shifted to the right as their eyes landed upon the dark skinned boy, who stood to the right of Kakashi, tightening the summoning seal on the palms of his hand.

Kibou looked down to the finger of the girl, his eyes reading that he was irritated already by the girl. "It's Kibou." He corrected her, which caused her to blink a few times as her finger began to hum. "And what do you need?"

"Get down to your knees so I can get on your back." Hitomi ordered him, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring up to the taller boy. "You don't expect me to walk in this snow, do you?"

Kibou stared down to the girl, wondering if she had lost her damn mind, talking to him like he was her servant or something.

"Well...?" Hitomi tapped her foot on the ground, waiting for the boy to do as he was told or say something, though he did the opposite of both. He turned his back on her and began to walk into the forest. She was taken back by this, letting her foot step back in shock. "Wha..."

"Yeah...um..." Tenten began as she leaned over to the girl with a smile on her face, which drew the girl's attention. "He really doesn't do well with orders."

"Try speaking to him a bit nicer." Sakura added with a hand on her hip. "Or I can carry you?"

The young girl's eyes shifted back and forth between the two girls, blinking a few times before she let out a huffed, turning her head away from the two and ran into the forest to chase after the boy.

Tenten lifted and stood up straight, her eyes following the girl as she disappeared. Sighing, she turned to Sakura. "We should make sure they don't end up killing one another." She suggested.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah." She said as she and Tenten turned toward the forest, and ran to chase after the two.

After they had left, Kakashi stood there with a sigh, his eye closed, a sweatdrop falling down the side of his head. "They'll be fine." He said to the clan head, who only chuckled. He opened his to give the man a more serious/dull look. "You can count on my team to get her there safe and sound."

Yosui nodded to the man. "I will place my trust in your words." He said. "Suna will contact me once you arrive, so you must get moving."

At that, Kakashi bowed and spun on his heel as he began a slow trot into the firest to catch up with his team.

Yosui stayed there, watching as the last member of the team disappeared into the forest. The man bowed to Kakashi and lifted his hand with the single hand deal in front of his face, closing his eyes. "You all must keep her safe."

About six minutes later, the team walked in sections through the forest: Kibou ahead of the team distancing about ten feet with the twelve year old Hitomi fussing at the older boy, not having the thought of relenting. Sakura and Tenten watched the boy continue to ignore the girl as he walked with his hands in his pockets. They were worried for both the boy and the girl, wondering who would give up first.

"I wonder what's wrong with her." Sakura spoke, breaking the silence between her and Tenten.

The brown haired girl looked to her left and to the pink haired girl in question. "What?"

Sakura continued to watch the two ahead. "Why do you think she's bugging Kibou like this?" She asked, causing Tenten to blink at her question. "I offered to carry her, but she shrugged it off."

"I don't know..." Tenten trailed off in a thoughtful tone.

"Ooooh, maybe she has a little crush on YOUR crush." Sakura snickered, leaning over to her fellow ninja with a mischievous look on her face, the sudden words causing the weapon specialist to blush. "Better be careful or she might snatch him up."

"Sha!" Tenten scoffed, rolling her eyes as she pushed Sakura playfully. She shook her head and wiped the blush from her face. "She's twelve and he's sixteen...I don't have to worry."

Sakura stumbled, but kept her balance and pointed forward to the two. "You sure?" She asked. "I know she is young, but she is pretty cute."

"Ha." Tenten gave a joke laugh, her eyes catching sight of the two up ahead. She noticed that Kibou was now taking back to the girl. Her eyes lowered. 'But...'

"Hmm...seems like they calmed down a bit." Kakashi mentioned to himself, walking at least ten feet away from Tenten and Sakura. The grey haired Jonin let out a sigh of relief, seeing as Hitomi, the daughter of the Aisushawā clan leader, and Kibou was talking calmly to the twelve year old and she wasn't just yelling at him. "Hopefully...we can get through this mission without anymore set back." He said as he went into a pouch and pulled out his little ORANGE book. As he began to read his erotic book, the Jonin couldn't help but have a feeling that he was completely wrong.

"How old are you anyways?" Hitomi questioned the boy, looking up to her left and at the boy, a questioning look on her face.

Kibou continued to look forward, showing no interest in her question, seeing the exit of the forest in the distance. Though it looked as if the thought of self immolation crossed his mind more that once, he answered the girl. "I am sixteen." He answered. "My birthday was a few weeks ago."

"Really?" Hitomi looked to be astounded. "How long have you been a ninja?"

"A little over two months." He answered. "But I could say I've been training since I was young."

"What about your rank as a ninja?" She asked, still looking up to the boy, wanting to dive a little deeper. "Are you really strong enough to be my bodyguard?"

"I'm a Genin." He said without delay. "I'm not that skilled yet as a shinobi, but there is still time." Hoping she would quit bothering him, he decided to put a little limiter on his abilities. "Kakashi is the strongest here." Well, that was true, because he still had a lot of gaps to fill in his own strength.

Hitomi smirked, humming, looking the boy up and down. The girl chuckled as she jumped in front of him with her hand on her hips, which caused him to stop all together to look down at her. "Then you'll carry me if you know what's good for you." She said, crossing her arm. "I might be stronger than you."

Kibou raised a brow as he looked down to her, wondering if this girl had lost her damn mind again. He might not be stronger than Kakashi, but he knew was stronger than this brat. "Don't get it twisted." He said, pushing pass her to continue on his path.

"Ah!" Hitomi gasped as she was shoved out of the way to the boy continue on ahead. 'Why...?' She questioned herself, her eyes lowering as she watched the dark skinned boy walk away from her. 'I'm nobility...and he's just SOME Genin...' Her shoulders slumped. "Aren't we the same." She asked, but flinched as she felt a hand on both her shoulders. Looking to her left then right, the girl saw Sakura and Tenten smiling down at her, but she just turned forward with her eyes lowered.

Sakura smiled to her, patting her head, though the girl seemed to only sink down a lot more. "Are you going to be okay?" She asked, but the girl stayed silent.

Tenten saw the look on her face, able to sympathize with the young girl. She didn't care about if it was a chance that she had a crush on Kibou. "You can't talk to him like that." She began, peaking the girl'sattention as her eyes raised. "If you have a little crush on him, you can't behave like that."

"What...?" HitomI looked up to the girl with a pure look of bewilderment. "I don't have a crush on him." The girl said simply, causing Sakura and Tenten to hum at her maturity toward the situation and how calm she was. Her head lowered to look forward. "Its just...our eyes-"

"Come on, you three." Kakashi walked passed the three girl and sent the a backwards wave. The grey haired man looked over his shoulder, showing what he would call a smile from behind his mask. "We can't let Kibou get ahead of us too much."

Nodding to the man, the three girl followed in silence for at least two minutes until they reached the mark of exiting the forest just about ten feet.

***BOOM***

All of a sudden, a earth shaking explosion shook the ground, alerting the four ahead and out of the forest. Staring forward, Kakashi and the group tried to take in the situation, trying to get a hold of what that could have been and where it came from. Taking a quick look back at Sakura and Tenten, he gave them a certain look that had seemed to wipe the smile from his face. "Keep her safe." He said. "I'll go see if Kibou-kun is okay." And with that, he dashed off and out the forest to leave them.

"What do you think is going on?" Sakura asked, looking to her right and to Tenten, the other girl staring forward into the distance.

"I don't know, but that explosion felt closer." Tenten said, a sweatdrop sliding down the side of her face. Kibou had been out of the forest for a bit after Kakashi had left, so he must have been almost close to the boat...

"You think we should go check it out with Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, a bit nervous from just standing there and not doing nothing.

Tenten shook her head, swallowing a knock down her throat. She was worried about her crush, but they had an order from their Jonin Captain. "I-I don't think we should leave yet." She said with obvious hesitation in her voice. "I'm sure they're okay; Kakashi-sensei and Kibou-kun are strong enough together."

"Yeah...you're right." Sakura nodded. "But a attack this early...do you think they were tracking us?" She asked Tenten.

"Yes." Instead of Tenten answering, Hitomi spoke, clinching the snowflake pendant on the necklace, her eyes wide as she stared forward.

Hearing her, Sakura and Tenten looked down to the girl in the middle of the two of them.

"The man that attempted to capture me a few years ago..." Hitomi began, as she swallowed a knot in her throat. "He can track the chakra of Mizuchi...the Dragon within me...and I guess he sensed one I was out of the village."

Sakura blinked a few times. "Why didn't your father tell us this?" She asked.

"Because..." Hitomi clinched the snowflake tighter against her chest. "The force of the chakra is so immense, he guessed the grey haired man would sense a impending attack."

"What?" Tenten and Sakura looked to her, perturbed.

"Sorry." Hitomi apologized, closing her eyes.

Sakura shook her head. "Don't be." She said as the girl's eyes open. "The two of them are strong, but we will start on our way there to help."

As Kakashi dashed to where the boat was docked at, he looked into the distance and over the trees, seeing smoke coming from where he was headed, his single revealing eye narrowing. He could sense two large chakra signatures, one he had felt before, another far stronger one, and a few weaker ones. A few scenarios ran through his head, though he had yet to feel the clash of any chakra yet, so Kibou must have not made contact yet.

Lifting his left hand, he shifted his headband up, revealing his left eye, a healed gash vertically through it. The eye was closed, just hoping to be one step ahead of whoever was there and caused the explosion.

Continuing on his way, Kakashi bit both his thumbs, drawing blood as he pulled out two scrolls, holding them both in his hands. He stopped in his tracks as he rolled the scrolls out in the snow in a X fashion, next crouching down as he began flashing through a series of hand seals. Finishing, he clapped his hands together. "Kichiyose no Jutsu." He said slapping his right hand on the middle of the X, creating a plum of smoke. As the smoke cleared, he stood up to his feet, the smoke cleared to reveal a brown pug with a blue vest and a Konoha headband at the top of his head much like Sakura's.

"You call, Kakashi?" The pug spoke, a scruffy voice coming from his mouth.

"Yes." Kakashi nodded as he rolled the scrolls back up and put them away. "I need you to scout up ahead and inform me of the situation."

"Got it." The pug nodded as he began to dig into the ground, burrowing deep.

"Okay," Kakashi nodded and placed a hand on his hip, his left eye still closed. "Now..." Before he could continue, a all too familiar portal appeared in front of him, being about twice his size. He must not have been in conflict with those he was sensing, but it seemed that Kibou was obviously up to something and this is was provoked him to stepping into the portal, letting it snap close behind him. On a flat, lower edge of a tall mountain, a portal opened up, spitting Kakashi out, closing behind him as he landed on the snow, his eye searching around. Where he had been transported to was high, but not too high, being about thirty feet above the tree with a few higher mountains placed around the area.

Sensing another chakra in the vicinity, Kakashi did a full 180 to see Kibou at the edge of the flat on one knee as he looked off the side. "What do you see down there?" The man asked, walking as he stopped at the right side of the younger boy.

Acknowledging Kakashi presence, Kibou nodded, his left eye, Kekkei Genkai active, scanning over what he saw below where the docks were. "It seems that they have destroyed the boat using explosive materials." He elaborated, his left eye shifting from right to left, seeing the fire rising from the lower half of the boat, the top half completely gone, traces of it in the water and the snow.

"Any survivors?" Kakashi asked, the look on his face never changing, but he was worried about the Captain and his crew.

Kibou eyes overlooked the boat and anything near it for the third time. "None." He said simply. "Wait...I can see a orange-red chakra signature scattered about the flames of the ship, which implies the use of Bakuton."

Kakashi nodded. It was amazing what the eye of the Heiwagan could accomplish at a far distance and on the regular. "What else."

His eyes analyzing the rest of the area, Kibou began to relay to Kakashi what he was seeing. "There's about thirty down there, all with that armor from when we fought on the boat." He explained. "I can also see that blue haired individual amougst them, his chakra being that of the chakra which destroyed the boat." The boy said his eye narrowing down at the blue haired man as another man came into sight, him being large, tall, and muscular with fair skin and blond slicked back hair having a single bang fall across his face. He wore a dark purple full body type of the armor with blue lining and spikes over the shoulders and wrist, a white and blue Yin Yang symbol embroidered into the chest and the sides of his shoulders. His brow knitted as he saw the man, his chakra making the other look like imps.

"Is that all?" Kakashi asked, the silence prompting him to do this.

"Um..." Kibou trailed off, blinking his eye as he shook his head. "There's another man...it seems like he's the leader."

"You think it's that Kentoro guy?" Kakashi asked.

"That is pretty vague, Kakashi?" Kibou said, turning his head to look up to the right. "That Daimyō woman didn't give us a real description of the man, but I will say that he could be considered the leader of those men, giving what my eye reads." He informed. "So just maybe..." Hs trailed off ass he turned his head to look back down to the area below. noticing as the assumed leader of the group swung his arm out to his right, ordering the men to check to the eastern side of Yuki no Kuni, leaving the blue haired man with him. "Wait..." He paused, catching the grey haired man's attention. "I think the weaklings have been order to check where we just came from...maybe the forest."

"I left Sakura and Tenten that way." Kakashi remembered as he watched the dark skin boy, as the boy began to stand to his feet.

"What about the brat?" Kibou asked as he turned to Kakashi.

"If you mean the heiress, she's with the two of them." Kakashi answered. "I ordered the two to protect the young girl."

Kibou groaned, turning his back to Kakashi as he crossed his arms, his brows knitted as he thought it over. "...This isn't good..." He commented.

"Sakura and Tenten are more than capable of handling themselves." Kakashi informed as he looked to the back of the boy's head.

"It's not that." Kibou shook his head. "It's the numbers game I'm worried about..." He added. "It is over fifteen of them and that means protecting that brat, watching her, and defeating the enemy will become a drag...neither of them being sensory ninja."

Under his mask, Kakashi smirked as he looked to the back if the boy. "You ability of perception is amazing." He praised.

"Thank you," Kibou nodded and turned back to him. "But my eye is the only reason I can do these things, mixing that with the knowledge Asa has taught me."

"Well, she did good with you." Kakashi said, putting a hand on his hip. "But what are we to do about Sakura and Tenten?"

At Kakashi asking this, Kibou eye shifted as he began to think. He had a way of reaching them, but it consumed a lot of chakra due to it being three people having to pass through a unstable portal. "I got a plan..." He said lowly, his eye shifting up to look the man in the eye. "But I may need help in activating this, my eye unable to perform a perfect portal for three individuals to pass though."

Kakashi nodded to the boy. "What do you need?"

Deep within the forest, maybe three minutes later, Sakura stood on the right side of the clan heiress with her back to her and Tenten on the other side, being alert for an oncoming enemy of any size. Hitomi, the clan heiress, stood in the middle, clutching the snowflake pendant, worried for those two who went on ahead. She wouldn't feel right if they died in order to protect her.

"So, what do think is taking them so long?" Tenten asked, looking out the corner of her eyes to Sakura. "They've been gone for a bit. You think he was able to catch up with Kibou-kun?"

Sakura looked our the corner of her eyes and let out a soft breath in order to reassure herself. "I would hope so." She said and closed her eyes, but brought her fist up and clinched her fist. "I know so!" She said and threw he fist forward. "The two of them are a great tag team as we saw on the boat, and two Dojutsu...I doubt they would lose easily."

"Yeah..." Tenten brows were turned upward, a bit if uncertainty in her voice. "But Kibou-kun eyes are still undeveloped and note that he only has that Heiwagan in his left eye and he has a time limit for how long he can activate it."

"Oh, yeah..." Sakura lowered her had as she began to think over what her friend and fellow shinobi. "But Kakashi-sensei should be enough if anything goes wrong."

As the two friends spoke back and forth, Hitomi eyes swapped in between them as she listened to the conversation, realizing that dark skinned boy from before wield a Dojutsu, which couldn't mean he was all too weak.

"Hey! There she is!"

At the yell, Hitomi eyes shifted to look forward as Sakura to to her right and Tenten looked to her left to see a group of shinobi coming into the forest, all wearing the same armor. Without even thinking twice about it, Sakura and Tenten leaped in front of Hitomi, Sakura going into a quick stance and yanking out a regular size scroll.

Before they could do anything, a portal opened in front of the group, the three girls blinking at the sight in front of them. Sakura and Tenten looked to one another and grinned, nodding as they both took a hand of the young girl and jumped through the portal as the girl's eyes widened at the space like distortion. As they passed through, the three had suddenly found themselves landing on the a flat edge of a mountain as the portal snapped closed behind them. Ahead of them they could see Kakashi and Kibou standing face to face with the older man having his right hand placed just a few centimeters away from the younger boy's left eye.

Seeing as they had successfully completed the jutsu, Kakashi lowered gis hand from the boy's eye, his Sharingan eye watching as the red in Kibou eye began to fade back to white, the boy showing slight signs of heaving in exhuastion. 'That jutsu really take as toll on the user.' He spoke inwardly. 'With each chakra signature that pass through a portal, it becomes unstable and weakens the user chakra until a complete chakra exhuastion, if he continues to advance, this Space-time Jutsu might succeed your's, Sensei."

Kibou turn to the girls as he nodded at the success in the retrieval of the heiress. "This is good." He said as he looked over Sakura, Tenten and the brat. "We have a proba-"

"What in the heck was that!" Hitomi interrupted him, the girl visibly shiver from the new level of temperature thet had suddenly reached. She marched toward the boy with her hands on her hips, stopping directly in front of the boy as she looked up to him. "What type of Ninjutsu was that?" She demanded as the boy looked down to her.

"Are you okay, Hitomi?" Sakura asked as she watched the girl shiver.

"I'm fine...I can take the cold."

"Uh, Hitomi..." Tenten was looking the back of the girl with a worried expression. "I think we have more pres-"

"Save it!" Hitomi interrupted her, causing the brown hair girl to blink in shock. "You...Kibou...that jutsu used used to get us here?" She continued. "What was it? Tell me what that was?"

Kibou looked down to the girl, his brows beginning to furrow at the demand once again. Why did this girl think she was the boss of him and had to tell her what she wanted to hear when she asked? His right hand lowering to the girl, he gripped her collar and lifted her up over his head as her legs dangled, a irritated glare in his eyes.

"Kibou-kun!" Sakura and Tenten took a single step forward, but was stopped as they saw Kakashi shake his head with both his eyes closed, causing the two to just sit back and watch.

Hitomi had her eyes squeezed closed as she was hoisted into the air with her chin lifted and her teeth clinched.

Kibou glared up to the girl in his right hand, his anger actually getting the best of him for the first time. He never enjoyed becoming angry, because it showed weakness in his eyes. And that meant he wasn't in full control of his emotions. "Who do you think you are?" He asked the girl in a hushed yell, but the girl never answered him. "Yes, I know you are the heiress of your clan, but that doesn't change who you are and what you are." He said. "I am not your servant and you do not control me as you think you do..."

"But..."

"I don't even want to hear your voice, and I really wish I didn't have to say that, but it's true!" Kibou said, his bluntness being tossed to the window. "It has been some time since I've loathed someone and I usually try to like people, but you continue to come at me in the wrong way. Why is this?"

"B-"

"Be quiet!" Kibou cut her off out of as he glared at her. "My mission is to guard you, but it doesn't mean I have to cater to your every need and you treat me like I'm nothing..." He said, as his softened. "As humans, we all live the same, no matter the trials, positions, or family. We are not above anyone, we were created to love one another and not treat those of lesser status like trash...because we are all the same...we bleed red."

As he spoke, Tenten, Kakashi, and Sakura stared to the boy, taking in his words and let them digest.

Kibou glared upward to her, but she was not speaking. "So, no-"

"I did this because we are the same!" Hitomi yelled, catching Kibou off guard, which caused his eyes to widen. "Our eyes...you hold the same type of pain as mine."

Hearing this, Kibou stared up at the girl as he lower her, watching as she opened her white slitted eyes. He dug deeper and saw that pain...that same pain he held a long time ago. His eyes lowered and sat the girl down to her feet, as she stepped back from him with her head lowered.

"I'm sorry...Kibou-san." Hitomi began as she looked to her feet, her body still shivering from the cold. As she stood there, she had suddenly felt something warm cover her head and lifted to see it was the cloak that the dark skin boy was wearing, but he had his head turned away from her.

Looking into the distance, Kibou avoided looking to the girl. "Put it on." He told her. "I'll be fine."

Hitomi stared up to the boy in bewilderment, a soft blush and a smile crossed her features as she snuggled her nose in it first then put it over her head as it fell down to her ankles. Eyeing the length, she snickered a bit.

"Well, I can see you two are on even terms." Kakashi smiled, both his eyes closed as Sakura and Tenten smiled and nodded. "So, we should get back-"

"To business."

At the sound of the new voice, Kakashi took notice of a large man with the blue hair man standing to the left of the area they were at. He glared at the blond and then to the sinister smirking blue haired man. "With me, huh?"

Instinctively, Tenten went into her pouch and pulled out two scrolls with a pinky up, Sakura went into a heavy stance as she moved to Tenten left side, Kibou used his right hand and moved Hitomi behind him to protect her, holding off on activating the Heiwagan due to him being low in chakra at the moment.

The girl hid behind the boy as she looked passed his side to see the blond haired man from before. Their eyes met and it caused the girl to flinch, which Kibou seemed to notice and pushed her head behind his back.

Kakashi stayed in his place next to Kibou, readying his guard just in the case a fight started. He looked to the man, both his eyes on him as the man seemed to be looking over his team in a attempt.

"Huh, guess you aren't just children." The blue haired man grinned as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes, it seems that way." The blond agreed, a scowl on his face as he looked over the group once more, his eyes landing on Kakashi, taking note of the famous Sharingan in his left eye. "So, I finally meet you Kakashi Hatake, the Copycat Ninja."

Kakashi never took his eyes off the man, placing a hand on his hip. "And should I guess that you are Kentoro Gomakashi," He said as the man simply hummed to himself. "You're the one after the Aisushawā clan heiress, am I correct?"

"You are." The blond nodded to him as his hand lifted to Kibou, intending it to before the young girl behind him. "And I would like for you to hand over the girl without any fuss." He said, causing Kibou eyes to sharpen at the man. He stared into the boy's eyes, letting the look tell him that he wasn't getting the girl on easy terms. "Your eyes are strange, boy."

His brows knitting as the man said this, Kibou fist clinched in anger as he stepped closer, but was pulled back by Hitomi, which caused him to twist his body to look behind him the girl, who shook her head.

"It's my team's mission to protect this girl, so we are not giving her up without a fight." Kakashi said as he slid a kunai down his left sleeve, but he didn't grip it yet, but keep it hidden.

Kentoro closed his eyes after looking over the group once more and shook his head, a sigh escaping his mouth. He lifted his right hand and scratched the back of his head as he opened his eyes with a dull look in his eyes. A few seconds went by when he finally decided to speak. "Do it."

Already poised to attack, the blue haired man by the name of Senji quickly stuck his index and middle finger of his left hand into the snow. "Bakuton: Mountainside View!" He yelled as the entire mountain they were on exploded, sending everyone in separate direction, but higher into the sky, the scream of Hitomi in everyone ears.

Feeling the rush of wind, Kakashi eyes opened, seeing that he was in a complete nose dive toward the snow down. Shaking his head to gain more control of his body, which had been briefly unconscious, as he soared downwards. His eyes shifted around in order to find his team, seeing Sakura linked up with Tenten, then he saw a unconscious Kibou to his far left and a freefalling Hitomi, screaming from dear life.

"Okay," Kakashi said began as he began to soar toward them.

"You might want to worry about yourself!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Kakashi flipped over just in the niche of time as the blue haired man was in the middle sending the same two fingers to his chest, but he was able to whip the kunau out If his sleeve fully and used the side of the blade to intercept the touch, causing a small explosion which sent him down faster. He reared his hand back and flung it forward to the man that was higher than him.

Without hesitation, the man used the back of his right hand smacked it out of the way making contact with him as he then front flipped with his right leg connecting with Kakashi chest, causing a smirk to cross his face. That smirk was instantly wiped from gis face as the man turned into a plum of smoke to reveal a log. "Wha...?"

Appearing behind the man with a kunai to his throat, gave the back of his head a dull look. "Apparently...you have no idea who you are dealing with." He said and went to slit his throat, but he vanished before he could do this. Quickly, his head lifted to see the man falling toward him with his left leg out to perform a leg drop.

"Neither do you!" Senji yelled and dropped down to Kakashi.

Kakashi lifted his right hand and caught his foot, quickly spinning in a clockwise fashion bringing around the heel of his right foot.

Meanwhile, during their plung toward the ground, Sakura was holding Tenten right hand with her right hand cocked back as they closed in on the ground. "Chaaaaa!" Sakura yelled as she channeled a large amount of chakra into her hand, speeding up their advance.

Tenten had a worried look on her face, tightening her grip on her friend's hand. "I hope you know what you are doing, Sakura!" She yelled, hoping the collision with the ground wouldn't be one that she would regret.

Having a even worse time than them, falling with all his hair flailing everywhere, The eyes of Kibou began to crack open after a short nap, hearing the sounds of screaming in his ears, this being the main reason he was awaken. Blinking a few times, tracing the sounds of the screams, he saw Hitomi falling down toward him with his hair partially blocking his view. Tears were coming from her eyes as she reached out to him. His eyes snapping wider, he realized what was happening and reached up to her. "Hitomi!"

Realizing the boy way awake now, it lighten Hitomi mood, but the fear was still on her face. "Kibou-san!" She yelled as she reached toward the hand that was reaching up to her.

Gritting his teeth as he edged closer and closer to her, Kibou took her hand and pulled her closer to him, holding the girl by her hip and to his chest. "Got you." He said as he flipped and was now in a nosedive toward the ground. "And I'm going to protect you."

As he said this, Hitomi looked up to the boy, a blush crossed her face and smiled and eyed the dark skin boy. She actually felt safe around him.

"That is really heartwarming!"

Kibou and Hitomi looked up to one of the other standing mountains to see that Kentoro guy.

Flashing through hand seals, Kentoro slapped his hands together. "Doton!" He yelled as a column of earth launched him from the mountain as he soed toward the two of them in a flash. "Speeding Bullet!"

Before he could react, the head of the man connected with the the forehead of Kibou, causing his grip around Hitomi to loosen as he cried out in pain in pain, blood being spat out from his mouth.

"Kibou-san!" Hitomi eyes were wide as she watched the boy begin to release her and plummeted toward the snow, head first. Before she could react, she felt her hair get yanked, causing the clip to fall out, releasing all her hair in all its glory, extending to about nine feet in addition with a small yelp from her being added. She lifted her hand to where he was gripping her hair. "What are you doing?" She yelled.

Holding her by her hair, Kentoro was falling to the ground calmly, but he was speeding like a bullet. He looked normal enough, a scowl present on his face. "Quiet now." The man spoke. "You won't have to worry about it much longer."

Dusting herself off in a small crater of snow, Sakura stood up to her full height and stretched, letting out a groan. "Well, that could've been worse..." She said abd looked down to her right, watching Tenten pray on her knee about being happy she made it. Sighing, she placed a had on her hip and turned to the girl. "C'mon, Tenten..." She trailed off as her eyes then caught some to the ground at a fast pace. Her eyes narrowed to see that it was Kibou. "Tenten, incoming!"

Tenten eyes opened and looked to Sakura with a soft sigh coming from her mouth, not ready for another rush, but she saw the pink haired girl eyes preoccupied with something in the sky. Her head turned to her right to see in a human and stood up quickly. "Is that Kibou-kun?" She asked herself, her eyes widening as he flipped over.

As he closed in on the ground, Kibou glared as he continued his nosedive and channeled chakra throughout his whole body and gritted his teeth. "Doton: Hard Body!" He yelled as he cocked his left fist back and collided with the ground, causing a rumble.

Not to long after he landed, Kentoro landed close to dock as the man Senji landed with him and Kakashi dropped down close to Kibou, Hitomi unconscious from unknown reasons.

Kakashi had his entire right arm of his clothing burnt off, the man trying to stand fully to his feet, but fell back down as he groaned. "I let my guard down." He said as he clutched his arm.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura and Tenten yelled, running over to the two other shinobi as they watched Kibou stand up to his feet, blood leaking from his forehead.

"I'm fine, Sakura." Kakashi reassured the girl, but she still went and healed the man.

Passing Kakashi, Tenten went to Kibou and stopped at his side, looking up to the boy. "Kibou-kun, are you okay?" She asked, but the boy never looked to her.

Without second thought, Kibou raised his chakra as his left eye faded to red as ge forcefully activated his Dojutsu and rushed the man holding Hitomi. It was his mission to protect her and that he would do, even if it killed him.

Kentoro simply watched the boy, watching as his eye changed. "Interesting. "

As he closed the gap, Kibou rushed him as the blue haired man leaped in the way to guard the larger man. It was quite obvious that the man sustained some injuries during his freefall fight with Kakashi, seeing as his left eye was bruised and shut closed. Without second thought or hesitation, he placed his fist far in his abdomen, causing the man to gasp, silence taking over for a split second as the large man behind hum at the sight.

'He was able to stop him with a single punch.' Kakashi spoke to himself, astounded, him surprisingly being caught off by that Bakuton.

"Worthless." Kentoro said, lifting his left leg and kicked both Senji and the boy across the snowy field.

Their eyes widening, they watch Kibou flew. "Kibou-kun!" They yelled as Sakura nodded to Tenten, informing her to help due to herself being preoccupied with healing Kakashi, a green aura around her hands as she healed his arm.

As Kibou altered and flipped over to slide on the snow, Tenten summoned a bronze bo-staff, holding her right hand at the far and her left hand close to the middle. "Just keep watch over Kakashi-sensei." She said as she then took off toward the large man.

Standing up straight, Kibou straightened his arms to the sides, channeling chakra into his hands, activating the seals on his hands as he released a already unfolded Fūma Shuriken in both his hands with them through the circular hole. Watching Tenten get closer to the man, he reared his right hand back first as the blades began to spin and tossed it forward toward the man in a arch.

Tenten smirked as she closed the gap between her and the physicallt intimidating man. She saw what Kibou was planning on doing and she prayed that it worked. Beating the shuriken to the man, she went for a few direct pokes with the edge of her staff.

Kentoro had lifted his right hand, using his wrist to block the strikes affectively.

Seeing this, Tenten brought the staff back as she slid her left hand do the shaft and moved it closer to her right hand, giving it a hard swing to the left.

Without any effort, the man leaned back as the staff passed his nose, but his eyes suddenly caught sight of the shuriken closing in on his, but he simply knocked it toward the sky, the man having quickly react to the next shuriken, slapping over to the right as it soared back to a smirking Kibou.

Leaping back as she timed it correctly, Tenten watched the second Fūma Shuriken, releasing her left hand from the staff and placed her right hand in the middle, cocking it back. Nodding to herself, she flung the staff as it flew straight to the Shuriken, slowly placing itself under the flying weapon.

Nodding, Kibou ran toward the two and slid directly under the wrapons, waiting as he slid passed the shuriken and under the other end of the staff, lifting his right hand to grip the staff. He yanked it downward, tipping the shuriken up and caused it to shoot upward with the other shuriken. Leaping up to his feet, he kicked one end of the pole as it flew over to Tenten, letting the girl catch it with a nod. Cocking both his hands back, he summoned a single kunai in both his hands, both placed with a explosive tag. He then tossed the kunai in his right hand in a over hand arch then tossed it through the hole of the first shuriken that was launched in the air as he then tossed the second kunai in his left hand through the second shuriken, moving his hand in front of his face to perform a single hand seal.

Watching his squad member, Kakashi couldn't help but admire his movement reminding him of his quick and agile was from when he was younger, able to put a plan together in brief intervals of time. Him and Tenten made a good team, working in tandem without the use of words, but something felt off about the man.

Sakura eyes were wide as she watched the two, amazed at their movements and their quick times. 'When did they practice this?' She asked herself, continuing with healing Kakashi.

Kentoro simply hummed in slight interest of the two, watching both her and him.

"Do it!" Tenten encouraged as she leaped back and away from Kentoro.

Smirking, Kibou grinned. "Release!" He yelled, sending chakra through the explosion tags of the kunai, causing the tip to spark a light and explode in order to launch the Fūma Shuriken downward in the direction to Kentoro.

Kentoro never made a motion to move, his eyes shutting as the shuriken edged closer to him.

"Yes." Kibou smiled as he watched the shuriken, but the look on his face was wiped away when he saw both shuriken ricochet just before it hit him. His eyes widened along with the others, but his eye had picked up something just when they were shot away from the man.

'That's strange.' Kakashi spoke in his thoughts, his eyes narrowing toward the man standing by the docks. Just when the man had reflected the shuriken, his sharingan noticed a brief disappearance of his chakra, reflecting that of a clone. 'I wonder...' He trailed off as his eyes shifted over to Kentoro left hand to the unconscious heiress, noticing she had a lack of a chakra network. "They're both clones..."

"Huh?" Sakura heard her teacher, looking down to the man kneeling in front of her. "Did you say something, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Sakura..." Kakashi began, feeling how close his arm was to becoming completely healed. "They're fakes..." He said, causing the pink haired girl to blink. "The sharingan was able to decipher that the two before you are Kage Bushins."

"What?"

"What?" Tenten spoke out in disbelief, a sweatdrop on the side of her head, watching as the man's eyes slowly opened. "How was he able to do that?" Before she knew it, Kibou leaped over to her right side, leaning over to the girl, which caused her to flinch, her mumbling out nosense with her eyes widened at the sudden invade of space.

As he leaned over to the girl, Kibou was completely blind to he embarrassment, speaking in a low tone. "Hey, my eye has picked up on something strange with this guy." He said, Tenten staring to his with wide eyes. "There was a short lapse in his concentration, but it was enough to reveal to me that the two have no chakra signature." He explained lowly.

Tenten blinked as he said this, regaining her composer as she looked to the slightly taller body. She hummed, tapping her chin in thought. "So, what do you think happened to the real ones?'

"Well, remember that one underwater place the Daiymo told us about?" He asked.

Tenten nodded at the question.

"I'm guessing they are there." Kibou said and moved as he stepped in front if the girl, obstructing her view of the verified clones, the brown haired girl watching him in confusion. "Earlier, she said that those armor devices are able to grant the wearer the ability to breath under water." He mentioned. "She has one of them back at wherever she's staying, so I'll go grab it once I destroy this imposter." Though he said this with much confidence, he panted softly, hiding the actual heavy pant with the sign of fatigue over his face. Guess forcing his Dojutsu when low on chakra caused his chakra to eat in the chakra he usually had reserved, having this as back ups just in the case he went overboard. 'This isn't good.'

Her ears perked a bit as she heard the soft, but constant breaths of exhuastion coming from Kibou. Gaining a stern look, she walked around his side while asking "Are you serious" stopping as she faced him, placing both her hands on her hips like a angry wife.

This caused Kibou to blink in confusion as he looked down to the girl. "Wha...?"

"I'm not even a sensory type, but your chakra signature is so obvious that I can feel your chakra waning." Tenten glared at the dark skinned boy, looking him directly in his eyes, which caused the boy's brows to raise. "You're running low on chakra," She said. "And you think I will let you fight?"

Before he could speak, Tenten spoke before him, examining the boy's face closely. "Oh, Kami, I can see the exhuastion all over your face." She said, blinking a few times. Besides noticing this, she was also noticing the change in attitude, but he still wore the same expression.

"Well..." Kibou rubbed the back of his head, looking down to her. "I thought I could stop this clone quickly."

"No." Tenten shook her head, closing her eyes. "You need to rest with Kakashi-sensei, and let myself and Sakura-chan handle this."

As they went back and forth, Kakashi and Sakura sweatdropped, watching the two look almost like a old married couple that couldn't make up their mind on what they should do.

"You know what, Tenten?" Kibou cracked a very small smile as he looked directly into her eyes, which caused her to stop speaking all together as she stared up at him with a barely noticeable blush on her face.

"What?"

"Okay, I'll let the two of you handle this one." Kibou agreed with the girl, sparking a smile to cross her face.

"Really?" She questioned as one of her hands fell from her hip, letting it dangle.

"Yes." He lifted both his hands and patted the sides of both of her cheeks, smiling to her, or doing what he thought was a smile.

"Oh...okay?" Tenten was happy that she was able to convince Kibou to let her and Sakura handle this, but her eyes shifted down to her body, her head and neck unable to move, finding out her whole body wasn't listening to her directions. "What's wrong with me?"

"See you soon." Kibou saluted her with two fingers and walked passed her and two the clone of the man.

Tenten's eyes widened, but her body was unable to follow him, only able to look forward to Kakashi and Sakura. "Hey, wait!" She almost yelled. "Did you just Genjutsu me?"

"What? Genjutsu?" Sakura raised a brow as she looked down to Kakashi. "When did he start it?"

"That's interesting." Kakashi eyed the back of Kibou as he separated from Tenten. "I'm guessing it was when her touched her." He said, causing a brief image of that to pass through Sakura head; Kibou making contact through her cheeks. "If I was to take a shot in the dark, I would say he utilizes his own chakra patterns and augments them to that of the chakra he uses to start a Genjutsu." He explained as the girl listened. "Through direct contact, he sends his own chakra through the skin and into the chakra network to begin the process of a Genjutsu. This being a small showing of the Genjutsu the Jitsugetsu holds and his unique way...a simple Paralysis."

"Oh..." Sakura hummed as she removed her hands from Kakashi arm, finishing with the healing. "Should we go get her out of it?"

Grunting as he stood up to his feet, Kakashi cranked his arm, getting the feel back into it after almost getting it blasted off by...that man. His eyes had caught sight of him in the snow to the left. Guess that kick had more effect on him than it did Kibou. "Yes." He nodded as he summoned a clone to retrieve the man.

As her and her sensei walked to Tenten, Sakura look to her left, watching the clone walk toward the down man.

Before she could question it, Kakashi spoke as he placed a hand on Tenten shoulder and sent a wave of chakra through her, letting her move once again. "That man could have some information we need to get to where Kentoro is." He said.

Able to move once again, Tenten bowed and thanked Kakashi as she then turned to see Kibou standing a fee feet from the clone. "What does he think he's doing?" She asked as he stepped forward, but was stopped by Kakashi arm, which caused her to look at him.

Kakashi never looked down to Tenten, but keep his eyes in the back of Kibou. "Just watch him." He said. "He has someone he wants to protect, so let him become stronger."

Letting out a breath, Tenten stared at the Jonin with a look of concern. But giving up, she nodded and turned her head to look forward as Kakashi clone regrouped with them, tossing the body to the man and poofed away.

Standing a few feet away from the man, Kibou lifted his fist and looked to the palm, his blurry vision making it hard for him to see straight. Going deeper into his chakra reserves, he balance what chakra he needed to keep his eye activated, but it would be for at least another minute before his chakra would be eaten completely. He had to make this brief and end this with his most powerful Ninjutsu. Lowering his hand, his vision straightened just a bit as he got into a light stance. "There's no need to keep using the ruse." He said to the man.

Clone Kentoro smirked, releasing the hair of the clone of Hitomi as it poofed away in a plum of smoke. "When did you figure it out?" He asked.

"It was when you reflected my Fūma shuriken," Kibou began a he pointed to his revealing eye. "My eye was able to pick up a unintentional hiccup in the chakra the real you happens to be remotely pouring into you, which made me assume you have been a clone." He elaborated. "I'm pretty knowledgeable and nothing can escape my gaze."

"Hm...you are an interesting individual." Kentoro said and clinched. "When I defeat you here and now, I will conduct a few experiments on that eye you have."

Summoning the final thing in the seals on his hands, very thin wire poofed into existence in both his hands, wrapping around each of his fingers, minus the thumb. "Feel free to..." He said and sprinted toward the man with his fist clinched. "But that dream is one I'm about to wake you up from." Saying this, he leaped toward him, swinging his right foot in a spinning low kick at a single leg of the man.

Kentoro slid his right leg back to avoid the kick.

Reacting quickly, Kibou continued the spin and brought around his left leg to attack the other leg.

Seeing this happen, Kentoro slid in a arch to place himself behind Kibou.

Sliding with his right leg forward, the dark skin boy leaped up backwards and performed a high backflip with a arched back and a few spins, having his left leg reared back. Finishing the stylish flip, he launched his leg at the head of the man.

Kentoro used his right hand and caught the ankle of the boy and tossed him to the left like a ragdoll.

Kibou skidded and hit the snow a few, but corrected himself as he slid backward with a hand to the snow. His head lifted quickly and saw the large man over him with his right fist cocked back. Acting quickly, he used the hand placed on the ground and his feet to throw himself to the right in a far distance, performing a cartwheel with one hand.

Kentoro sent his fist down just when the boy had leaped and let his fist collide with the snow and caused a explosion of the white substance.

Kibou watched the boy as he landed on the snow. He only had at least half of his single minute left and this was all going as planned. If he was able to get tje man to follow him once more, he would be able to end this. Watching the snow, he flinched a bit as the man shot at him. "Here we go." He said and darted back toward the docks.

Kentoro gritted his teeth and changed his course ran in the direction the boy ran in with both his fist clinched. He began to close the distance before him and the boy before he knew it and went to punch the back of his head, but his eyes widened one he ducked under it without looking and kicked in his chest, which caused him to slide back.

Returning to his original spot, Kibou spun around to face the man, lifting both his hands, a blank on his face. He spread his fingers apart to show the man the wire wrapping around his finger, his eyes widening when he saw the trail leading from his hand.

"What the..." Kentoro spoke.

Sending chakra through the wire, they lifted and formed a triangle around the man as Kibou looped both his hands and pulled the wires tight, wrapping around the man and bound his arms to the side, sending a charge of lightning through the wires and to the man, causing him to shriek, slumping over with smoke flowing from him. "Do it now!" He said as the snow behind him erupted as a slot of earth acted as a spring board to launch a hidden Kibou into the air with strange spherical object in his right and over his palm. It was various shades of a shining blue with continuous layers, the very core being a shiny violet color, lightning cursing around it. "Ranikari!" He yelled, flying down to the clone of the man.

"Ranikari?" Kakashi questioned as he watched on the sidelines, staring at the orb in the boy's hand, becoming a bit reminiscent of his fellow Anbu from the war who told him about Kibou. 'Generation to generation, huh?"

Kentoro's head lifted, eyes growing large as he watched the boy fall upon him, but a smirk crossed his face as he began to build up his chakra.

"Good hiding spot, huh!" Kibou said, but a spike of earth caught him off guard and sprouted from in front of the left foot and directly to his heart. Before it could his hit. he launched his right hand down and forced the golf ball sized sphere on it breaking through it as it was nothing. Gritting his teeth, rocks being launched, he glared at the man. "Lightning beats earth!" He said as the sphere collided with the centre of his chest, crashing into the emblem as a fierce gust of wind blew out and cleared the area of snow around them. "Now crumble!" He exclaimed as the emblem cracked and he shot a cyan blue lightning bolt with a violet surrounding through him and his own feet to give him a boost as the clone poofed away and he rolled on the ground as the clone he used dispersed along with the wire.

Smiling as he did this, Sakura and Tenten ran toward him as the boy began to push himself up, but he was on his knees, panting. The two girl looked to one another and lifted the boy to his feet, the boy tipping to the left and brushed up against Tenten.

The girl's eyes widened as she stiffened when Kibou leaned up against her, Tenten's eyes shifting up to Sakura. who simply nodded. She swallowed a knot in her throat and wrapped his left arm around the back of her neck and placed her right arm behind his back to hold him. "Told you..." She said as she looked over to the right, but blushed at how close their faces were. "You were overzealous out there."

"Oh, I'm sorry, honey." Kibou joked, his eye returning to normal, though how he spoke would not show he was messing with her, because he always spoke with a sound of maturity.

"Honey?" Tenten blushed and almost dropped him in shock, but held her strength, keeping the boy up. She cleared her throat and shook her head, swinging the bangs that hung over the sides of her forehead. "But you were great out there." A smile on her face.

Kibou looked over to her and nodded to her. "Thank you." He thanked. "That jutsu really put a strain on my body...I just need some rest."

"I understand, and at this rate, you'll become strong." Tenten nodded to him.

"But what is our next plan of attack?"

Both Tenten and Kibou looked up to see Kakashi carrying the blue haired man over his shoulder. He stopped in the front of them, looking down to the three Genin. "I am sure Kentoro has returned to that place Koyuki told us about."

"Well," Kibou began as their eyes cut straight to him. "The woman you just mentioned informed us that she had acquired one of those devices."

"Wait." Sakura caught everyone's attention. "Before you transported us to the mountain, some men came after us in the forest, so we can just steal one of those."

"That won't work, Sakura." Kibou shook his head. "Hitomi father told us he would reactivate the Genjutsu once we exited the forest, and with my chakra as it is, I cannot perform my jutsu." He explained as the girl let out a simple "Oh". "If we can, we must find wherever that woman is and get that device from her and maybe get a full night of rest, and hope that nothing happens to Hitomi."

At that, everyone nodded. Kakashi looked to Kibou. "My guess would be that Koyuki is staying at Kazahana castle." He said. "I was informed that it was remodeled for her."

"Okay." Kibou nodded to Tenten and removed his arm from around neck as he stood on his own feet, she returning the smile, but when he looked back to Kakashi, he wasn't aware of her turning her head and smack her lips. "Once we get there, see if you can extract some information from the man, see what Kentoro is up to and how long we have."

Kakashi nodded to the young boy. "You know I'm the captain on this mission, right?" He asked and chuckled.

"Oh, yeah...sorry." Kibou chuckled. "I've always had a tendency to play a leadership role." He said and pointed to his forehead. "I have always been smart and I never fail to showcase it."

"That's a good quality..." Kakashi praised. "One Tsunade-sama will be impressed to hear from me."

About twenty minutes later, Koyuki Kazahana walked throughout the halls of her castle in a pink, teal, and white kimono, the obi being the teal. Her mind was wandering at the meeting of the new Team Kakashi earlier. Not much could be said about the girl named Tenten, but that Kibou boy had seemed a little interesting from her first meeting with him. She was knocked from her thought as one of her guards walked up to her.

"Kazahana-sama, you have visitors." The man said, causing her to hum, brows raising. He shifted to the side as Team Kakashi was seen walking down toward her, Kakashi in the lead with Sakura and Tenten astounded at how large the place was, but it seemed Kibou was unamused. "They said they were friends of you."

Kakashi wore a eye closed smile as he stopped in front of her. "Hello, Koyuki-sama..." He began as she blinked. "May I ask a favor of you?"

**(Scene Change)**

Kentoro sat in his throne with his eyes closed, thinking over what had transpired through the day. He completed what he had set out to do, but he was still a little on edge after receiving the information of his dispersed clone from early. It was enough that Kakashi was able to weaken Senji enough for thar boy to actually land a direct blow, taking him out in one strike. Kakashi was already a handful to begin with, but with that boy having the strength, or intelligence, to actually take out his clone.

His eyes opened and looked down the aisle to his throne and to the girl unconscious in the middle if a floating orb that was large enough to fit another two full sized men. She floated, her hands on her chest as she clinched the snowflake necklace, a white chakra flowing all around the edges of her and the orb.

"This is taking too long." Kentoro said as he looked to the right arm to his throne chair and to a guage that was empty, but the single one percent that was filled was blinking red.

"If this keeps up, I'll be ancient by the time the chakra is absorbed into the ship." He grunted, tapping his fingers across the arms of the chair.

His mind beginning to wander, he began to see the sight of that last attack that boy had used against his clone. He held his hand out and faced his hand to orb in the middle of the room. Staring through the cracks of his fingers, he let out a soft breath. 'Ranikari...' He spoke inwardly.

**(Few Hours Later)**

The sun finally had set and was replaced with a full moon, it being hid by the clouds that were still present in the sky, though it was obvious that a lot more clouds were beginning to vanish from the sky.

"Again, thank you, Koyuki-chan." Sakura said as she bowed to the woman, sitting across the table from her.

Currently, her, Tenten, and Koyuki sat in a small, tan, Japanese style room with a small table between the three of them, all with a cup of tea in which they were having at the moment. Koyuki had given both Sakura and Tenten kimonos. Sakura wore a emerald green one that matched her eyes with a maroon obi and her hair tied up in a bun with two chopsticks in her hair, while Tenten wore a hot pink kimono with a dark grey colored obi having a floral pattern that was a darker pink, her hair being let down at all sides with her bangs pushed to the right of her head.

"It's nothing, Sakura-chan." Koyuki smiled as she poured Sakura more tea in her cup, seeing as she was running low. She sat the teapot on the table. "It's good to actually have company here." She said and showed a eye closed smile.

"You're the Daiymo..." Tenten reminded as she lifted her cup and down some tea calm. Once she sat it back down, she continued. "I thought this place would be busy."

"It usually is." Koyuki confirmed with a soft sigh. "But meetingd have ceased once everyone heard that shinobi from another village was coming to Yuki no Kuni. "

"What?" Sakura raised a brow. "Aren't Konoha and Yuki no Kuni allies?"

"Yes," Koyuki nodded as she looked over to Sakura. "But people are still weary."

"I understand." Sakura sighed.

"What about your guard? Aren't they company enough?" Tenten asked, her eyes brightening, remembering the long spears they wielded.

"I mean 'girl' company, Tenten." Koyuki specified as she grinned to the brown haired girl.

"Ooooooh..." Tenten snickered with the woman. "Aren't you still Princess Gale?" She asked. "I know men be knocking those doors down to see you."

"I wish." Koyuki waved the girl off with her eyes closed. "The men here are afraid of a woman with power," She said and shook her head. "But the men that actually attempt to court me, I chase them off. "

"Hm, why?" Sakura asked, a questioning sound in her voice.

"Well..." Koyuki trailed off, her eyes shifting a bit. "Most don't meet the right requirements." She said and closed her eyes as a flash of Naruto went through head, but she instantly shook her head, multiple sweat beads on her head. "But about you two?" She asked. "You are pretty attractive, so I know you both have them boys in Konoha on their knees."

"Well..." Sakura and Tenten eyes trailed away as a flash of Sasuke flashed into Sakura head and a image of Kibou came to the front of the mind of Tenten. The two girls sighed and hung their heads, both having failures in the romance game, neither of the boys being observant of a girls and their emotions.

"Um." Koyuki saw this in both of them, the two not having any more success than she does with finding someone that has a heart like Naruto. "Can I ask you a question, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura lifted her head slowly and gave a short nod to the older woman.

"Where is Naruto and the other boy?" She asked as Sakura eyes widened, Tenten eyeing the girl, but stayed quiet in her spot. "I've wondered this since you arrived."

Sakura head hung again, the story not one of her favorite things to tell. But this woman was one of the influences on Naruto that made him chase after Sasuke, because he always fulfilled his promises. "Where do I start?" She began. "It's been about two months now, but some time after the first time we came here, Sasuke had changed...he had this greed for power and it push him to fighting Naruto before he left the village in search for this power from one of the three Sannin, Orochimaru." She explained as Koyuki eyes widened, but Tenten watched, eyes lowered. "Naruto and a few other went to bring him back, resulting in Naruto and Sasuke having to fight in the end...but he lose...opening the path wider for Sasuke to leave and retrieve this power from Orochimaru." Her eyes slowly opened, a surprise smile across her face. "But Naruto is training with another Sannin, Jiraiya, and I've trained with Tsunade-sama, so I'm sure we'll bring him back."

Lightening the mood, Koyuki smiled and chuckled. "You better." She said.

"So," Tenten cut in with a forced smile. "What do you think the boys are doing down in the prison." She asked with a eye closed.

"Extracting that information from that man maybe." Sakura said as she casually sipped her tea. "They should be done now."

Deep within the depth of Kazahana castle, the was a prison where criminal of Yuki no Kuni would usually be held, the more heinous being held deeper. Peering into one cell was Kakashi Hatake and Kibou glaring to the blue haired man in the cell, sitting on his knees.

"So, is that all you need to tell us?" Kakashi asked, his single eye on the man, waiting for his reply.

The man stayed silent, his eyes closed. "That is all I need to tell you." He said. "You need to acquire the armor get in throught each smaller sections connected to the main piece." He explained. "If you cannot make it on the ship before noon, you can kiss you luck goodbye, because extracting the chakra of Mizuchi from a human body takes awhile." He said.

Kakashi and Kibou turned to one another, both eyeing each other as the began to go through the information they acquired from the man that gave them no hassle, which seemed be surprising to the two men, but they didn't question it.

"So, he plans to extract the dragon's chakra straight from Hitomi's body." Kakashi began as he placed a hand on his hip. "We should go tell the others about the man's entire plot."

"Lead the way." Kibou said, opening a small portal that was the same height of Kakashi and not very wide as usual.

Kakashi hummed at seeing this, looking in his direction. "This is rather small."

Kibou scoffed at Kakashi saying this, ths words hitting somewhere sharp. "This is the best I can do while my eye is resting, so hopefully it could get us close to higher grounds." He said.

**(Scene Change)**

"So, we should be heading to bed in a bit." Sakura said to the two of females as she pushed herself up to her feet and let out a soft yawn.

Tenten nodded as she brushed her bangs behind her right ear, pushing herself up to her feet as she stretched. "Yeah, its been about three hours since they had left to talk to that man, and it don't seem like their coming up anytime soon."

As they said this, one of the doors to the room slid open as Kakashi and Kibou walked into the room and looked over the women.

"What did you two figure out?" Sakura asked the man as she turned to face the man, their appearance drawing everyone's attention.

Kakashi looked to his left, asking his Kibou wanted to explain, which the boy shook his head at the question and just continued to look at the girl. The man hummed, letting out a surprise 'Okay' as he explained. "We figured out that the place under the water is actually a aerodynamic slash amphibious ship and not a civilization." He informed them, causing their eyes to widen. "It seems even before you hired him, Koyuki-sama, he has always been building this device for one purpose and that was to start the Fourth Shinobi War, but his invention was inadequate and required large doses of chakra to get it to even move, so he set his eyes on two people." He said, holding up his righf hand wuth his index and middle finger up. "First, Hitomi, knowing the massive chakra beast she held within her, which he would utilize to get the contraption mobile, then he would set his sight on Naruto, the boy with the Kyuubi no Kitsune within him and he would use that power to control the world."

'Naruto has the Kyuubi sealed within him?' Both Tenten and Koyuki spoke in the thoughts.

"What...so he plans to capture Naruto?" Sakura asked. "Do he know that he's out of the village."

"Who knows." Kibou answered, standing a few steps behind Kakashi and to his left, his eyes closed and his arms crossed. This caused their attention to fall upon him, his eyes staying closed. "Apparently, it takes at least for the ship to become charged, so we have time to get down there."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute." Koyuki spoke as she got the dark skinned boy's attention. "We were only able to acquire only one of those chakra armors..." She said as thd four shinobi looked toward one another. "So, now is the best time to give this job to one of you."

Saying, the team continued to eye each other in silence for a few seconds, but the quiet was broken when Kakashi spoke up. "As the Jonin Captain, I will be putting on that armor." He said.

Everyone looked to him. "Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura began as she thought it over, the most capable of their team would be the most ideal way of dealing with that underwater place and securing Hitomi from that man. "Yeah," She nodded to him then looked to the team. "I think that could work."

Tenten hummed, a better idea coming to her as she pointed her left hand to Kibou, who flinched once she did this. "Is there any way that you could get both you and Kakashi-sensei down below?" She asked, contemplating if it was possible for Kibou to transport the two of them instead of only Kakashi to make the odds a bit better for the two of them.

"I don't know..." Kibou spoke, thinking to himself with his fingers to his chin, stroking his jawline in thought. "Maybe I could..." Taking in account of each contingency, he hummed, thinking it could be better to have someone watch his back, knowing you could be a bit more relaxed when it came to it. "It is a more intricate way of going into this and may be involve more of a stealth approach."

"So, this must mean you have a plan." Kakashi said, nodding to the boy. "For someone's first A rank mission and only a trained shinobi for a little over two months, you've really been a asset to the team." He praised the boy to his left, watching as the boy bit back a smile at the compliment from the man.

"Tha-thank you, Kakashi." Kibou stammered a bit, biting his bottom lip to hide the blush of embarrassment behind a little pain.

"So...that what he looks like when he's flustered." Tenten spoke to herself, staring at the dark skin boy, wondering why he GOT so flustered from Kakashi complimenting him.

"What is your plan, Kibou-kun?" Sakura asked, intrigued by another plan her future teammate could have in his pocket. She was growing to respect the boy, him peaking her interest to the utmost extent, him having more ideas in her pocket than Tenten had weapons in her scrolls. Maybe it wouldn't be to bad for him to take Sasuke's place until the Uchiha male would return.

"Well, I was thinking..." Kibou looked over to her, dragging his hand through his straight black hair, going over the plan in his head as he spoke it aloud to them. "With my eye, being a escape artist, I could leave a seal with Kakashi to perform a type of reverse summoning." He said, peaking all of their interest. "All Kakashi needs to worry about is channeling the precise amount of chakra to be transport to my location, but not enough can hurl him into space or too much can send him to the core of the earth."

"That's pretty intense, Kibou-kun." Tenten put in her opinion of the type of technique he wanted to perform.

"But it could be done." Kakashi spoke as he turned his whole body to the boy. "I'm pretty familiar with your clan's Mūn basho technique and I know how to use it." He informed, confidently, holding his right hand out after her removed his glove.

"That's impressive." Kibou nodded as he lifted both his hands and performed a single hand seal with his hands together, both his pinky and ring finger curled between the other and his index and middle finger of his right hand pointed straight, but with the ones on his other hand curled over the top. "Mūn Basho." He chanted, placing his right index finger and placed it on the back of his hand as the kanji for '日月' appeared. Watching as Kakashi put his glove back on. "Once you are transported to my position, we must split up: one find the room where they a manufacturing those chakra devices and the other look for the girl."

"This is pretty astonishing." Kakashi said as he looked down to the male, then to his hand in wonderment. This caused the boy to blink, only able to let out a "Wha" in response to the man.

"Okay, Kakashi..." Kibou interjected with a sheepish smile. "We all need to rest, especially me." He said and nodded with his eyes closed.

"Yeah, we can all get some rest before tomorrow." Koyuki put in, pushing herself up to her feet. "I'll escort you all to you rooms."

**(Middle of the Night)**

Through the night, everyone slept soundlessly, each member of Team Kakashi being placed in the southern side of Kazahana castle, one of the more silent end of the castle. It had been titled this because the western end was where Koyuki would conduct her late-night work to maintain balance in Yuki no Kuni.

Each team member room were placed next to one another: Sakura being the first to the left, then Kibou next to her, Tenten after him, and Kakashi being last after her. Everyone had their respectful room, it being pretty normal with a normal door and a simple window over the head of the bed.

The Team seemed to be having the own dreams: Sakura having one of the night Sasuke had left, Kibou having one about his life in the previous world and how he grew since then, Tenten having a dream of a rather outrageous assortment of weapons, and Kakashi having a dream where he was relaxing, reading the entire series of Icha Icha throughout an entire evening.

All seemed to be going fine, minus Sakura's dream, each of them sound asleep. In the room of Kibou, the boy laid on his back with his arms crossed over his chest, his primary way to fall asleep and sleep. Being asleep, his permanent scowl was gone from his face, a actually smile on his face as the boy dreamed peacefully. To break the silence in his room, a sudden array of images flashed into his dream of a woman with intimidating long white hair and a eye in the middle of her forehead, floating in front of a red full moon, which matched the eye. The next image was of a symbol of a sun and a crescent moon on both its sides and the last image was of people being tied in white bandages and hung from randomly placed trees.

This made the boy's eyes opened calmly, but it was hidden distress, if the sweat dripping from his forehead. He was panting a bit, pushing himself up to sit off the side of his bed to show his very messy, bed hair head, his bangs just random across his forehead to show both his eyes just partially. Those images gave him a strange feeling, made him uneasy at something that was only saw in a dream. What significance did those pictures hold and why did it show up in his dream and wake him from his sleep? The most logical choice was to forget about it due to the fact it served no current interest to him, and he drove himself on logic, but there was a nagging sense just poking, and this caused his head to turn and look to the full moon. It made his stomach rubble, something strange spewing from Luna, what he would call the moon.

"What the hell is happening?"

**(Next Day)**

"So, I just you to put this on, and you'll be ready to go."

Kibou looked at the chakra armor, it being light bluish tendrils connected with the main part being the round yin yang emblem that would be placed on his chest and two emblems on the sides of his shoulder. By first glance, calling it armor would be pretty redundant, but once the user would put it on, the primary defense would be a shield a portion of your on chakra. It was told to them that it was a new feature to the devices. His head lifted to the dark haired woman, who was about the same height as him, the two of them looking to one another as she smiled to him.

"But you'll need to remove you upper garment." Koyuki said, prompting the boy to blink in curiosity, eyeing the red hoodie Asa had made him some time ago. "It seems to be significantly thick and these chakra devices need direct skin contact for it to activate."

"Oh...um...okay." Kibou nodded, pulling his arms through the sleeves and pulled it off his head as his hair flopped back down to his back, him shaking his hair so that the bang in front of his right eye would go back in place. He turned his back to the woman and looked to his teammates, namely Tenten. "Is it possible for you to seal this away?" He inquired, seeing as the seals on his hands were filled to capacity.

"Um..." Tenten eyes were wide, her eyes all over the place with a blush on her face, seeing the boy in front of her in on a very revealing fishnet top, considerably showing his toned upper body. Her leg lifted to step back, but she abjured to the thought and sat her leg back to the floor, nodding to the boy and regained her composer. "Okay, Kibou-kun." She said and took his red hoodie, her gaze falling just a bit.

Kibou began to turn, ready to put on the chakra armor.

A blush then crossed Tenten cheeks as the she held the hoodie in both her hands, her eyes low for a second before she looked up. "Kibou-kun..." She called to him.

Just before he was fully turned to Koyuki, Kibou looked over his left shoulder and to the shorter girl. "What is it?"

Kakashi and Sakura looked out the corner of their eyes, watching the girl, Kakashi figuring out what was transpiring quickly. It was quite obvious to him that she had some sort of infatuation toward the boy, but it seemed Kibou was less observant than he thought he was. He was smart, but it was obvious that he was still young and oblivious.

"Um..." Her mouth opened, her face turning beet red, her mouth becoming dry in the wake of her nervousness when ever she wanted to change something between her and Kibou.

"Yeah?" Kibou turned to face her, a dark brow being raised in confusion.

Koyuki eyed the girl from behind Kibou, a inward hum resonating in her head as the question from yesterday had found its way to the front of her head. So, he must be the one the girl was sweet on, but was having no discovery in the romance department. A soft smile just crossed her face, rooting for Tenten for this one.

"Can I...can I...uh..." Tenten swallowed a knot in her throat, squeezing her eyes closed, a soft breath being let out her mouth as she looked back to Kibou. "May...may I call you Ki-chan from now on?" She asked, but instantly freaked out and waved her hands frantically. "As just a nickname, for you and I."

At her asking this, The three looked to Kibou, gauging his reaction, which was a simple blink of his eyes. It was obviously two parts of Kibou: one that was outright a genius when it came to the more complicated things like rescuing a capture clan heiress from and underwater ship, but he completely become incompetent when it came to such simple thing as noticing the intent behind her placing 'chan' after his name.

"Yes." Kibou showed her a simple smile with his eye closed, nodding to the female in front of him. "You can call me what ever you like." He said and opened his eye to look at the blinking girl.

"Thank you, Ki-chan." Tenten nodded, hiding the small bit of disappointment on her face with a smile. "Is there a name you want to call me?" She asked.

"Hmm...let me think..." Kibou said stupidly, but Sakura interrupted his brief moment of showing his ass to the girl who liked him.

"Get the armor, it's almost noon." Sakura said as she spun the dark skinned boy around to face the dark haired woman, but as she spun him around. her head was cocked to the left and at Tenten, mouthing "I don't know".

"Oh, okay." Kibou said in a bewildered vouce as he faced Koyuki, the woman glaring daggers at him, which him feel a bit unsettled. "Wha...what I do?"

"Hmph." Koyuki huffed and held the armor out to him as she shook her head. This boy had little respect for the fragile place in a woman's heart where they could do things so nice for him and not notice. As a woman, this ticked her off to see that happen. "Nothing at all."

"Al...right..." Kibou said, unsure on what was happening, taking the armor.

As Kakashi watched Kibou place the armor on himself, he couldn't help but snicker at the misfortune this boy was having on the last day of their mission. The boy was trending on thin ice when ignoring the feelings of a female and especially a teenager.

"I...I think there's something wrong with this." Kibou said, his eye eyeing his body to see the loose emblem hanging off his chest and from his shoulders, the tendrils connected being the only reason it was still on his body.

"Here, let me check." Koyuki said and took a step closer to the boy and pressed the emblem as it sprung to to his body clinging to the centre of his chest and his shoulders. As it became accustomed to his chakra, it glowed a blue color thatt match the lining of his eye when he actived his Dojutsu. "I think that could work."

"Yeah..." Kibou agreed with her silently, the jolt of chakra being raised to the max and he noticed this to the fullest extent. It was as if his chakra reserves opened completely for his use and combined with the chakra he usually kept hidden. But with that, he knew his already botched chakra control was now a lot more unstable than before. Unknowingly to him, his left eye's screla had faded to red, unintentionally activating his Dojutsu, the small blue stripes appearing at the outer edge of his eye.

Her getting a close shot of this happening, Koyuki became unsettled once again like the first time. She lifted her foot and retracted a bit, he body becoming unnerved at the sight of his eyes. "Was that intended?" She asked.

"Huh?" Kibou looked around, but soon felt his change in chakra, which meant his eye was activated. "Oh, sorry. I think this armor forced me to go full power." He said, attempting to get use to this new level of power. "But maybe..." At this, a large portal appeared behind Koyuki, being its normal size.

This caught everyone's attention, causing Koyuki to turn around, flinching at the sight as she took a retreating step backwards, bumping into the chest of the dark skin boy. This accident caused her to gasp, looking over her shoulder.

"It's just a portal." Kibou said, gently pushing the woman off him. "Instead of walking like we planned, this'll transport us to the docks in a instant." He informed, walking backwards to it as he broke down what it was here for. Without wasting anymore time than he had, he leaped through it and left the group.

Koyuki wasn't too sure about going through it. "What type of Ninjutsu is this?" She asked as she back away.

"Kakashi-sensei says it's some sort of Space-time jutsu." Sakura said as she walked passed Koyuki and patted her on the shoulder, leaping through after.

"Though we or he don't know too much about it," Tenten walked passsd her and looked over her shoulder. "It's still a good way to get around." She said and then leaped through.

"What?" Koyuki eyed the thing, getting a bad vibe from it. She didn't know exactly what it was, but she wasn't too sure about it being called forth into the world so suddenly.

"We may need you there, Koyuki-sama." Kakashi said as he stopped on her right. "Giving the case Kibou-kun stops himself killing the man, we may need to hand him over to you...put him in your custody." He said and took a small walk over to the portal. "It's your choice." After this, the man leaped through, leaving Koyuki by herself.

After a few seconds of staring at the thing they called a portal, figuring the pros and cons of not going with them to retrieve the body if Kentoro had just been unconscious. He could be let free to roam and start his plans again.

**(Scene Change, Docks)**

The team of four stood at the edge of the docks, looking of the edge and into the sea as worker around was attempting fix what damages the explosion from yesterday had caused, most salvaging what was blown ashore from the sunken ship.

Standing to the left was Sakura, then Tenten, then Kibou, the Kakashi, all waiting for Koyuki to make the choice they all knew she woud be making.

A few feet behind them, the woman fell from the portal and stumbled upon the landing to the wooden docks, hearing the portal snap close behind her. Straightening herself, Koyuki looked the group, Sakura and Tenten having spun around and smiled to her, while Kakashi had a hand on his hip as he looked over his shoulder to the woman.

"Good to see you make it." Kakashi greeted with a short wave. "We have at least an hour to make it onto the ship before it takes off." He said as they spreaded out once Koyuki came closer, all looking to Kibou who held a small portal in his right hand.

"How do you plan on getting to the ship?" Koyuki asked as she looked over the boy's shoulder, eyeing the small portal with the sharp spinning edges and the space like center, it having stars and what you would expect from it. "It's pretty far out."

Looking out into the distance, Kibou grab the disc in between the side of his right index finger and his thumb, flinging the small portal into the distance as everyone watching it. The boy clapped both his hand together. "Nejiton." He whispered, as the portal that disappeared in the distance had grew to its full size, though he knew the only one that might be able to see out that far was Kakashi.

"That's pretty smart." Koyuki said, her hand over her brow in her attempt to look out in the distance. "Have you measure the speed in which it is going at." She asked the boy. "You may need to stop it in the next five seconds."

"The velocity is the main thing I'm worried about." Kibou said as he turned to the group, looking toward Kakashi. "Once I make it into the ship, I will send you a signal through the seal." He pointed to his hand. "Immediately when you feel me attempting to contact, send the exact amount of chakra through the seal and you will be transported to me."

"Okay." Kakashi nodded to the boy.

Looking to the rest of the group, Kibou nodded to them and took a simple step back and off the edge, opening a portal below him a fazed through it.

Koyuki eyes were wide as she watched this.

Feeling no break in the portal hop, Kibou fell from the previous portal he threw to the middle of the sea. He splashed down into the was, clinching his fist as the portal closed. Once he had hit the water, he sunk down at least seven feet, his cheeks puffed up and his eyes searching around the water to figure out where he was at. After a few seconds of looking, he remembered the chakra suit had granted him the ability to breath under water, which had them blow out the helping of air from his cheeks, creating a bubbling sound.

'So, what first?' He questioned himself, kicking his feet slowly to stay in his one spot. His body spun around to find his surroundings, but was unable to find a single thing of interest, unless one found fish interesting and this he didn't.

He nodded to himself and flipped so that he could be pointing down as he began to swim. As he began his decent to the lower regions of the sea, he saw all sort of things like coral, jellyfish, seahorses, zanders, and a array of other things that he wasn't too sure of. But he was sure to steer clear of those jellyfish because he knew what they could do and he was still vulnerable to being shocked.

After about ten minutes of kicking his leg, of this non-stop swimming, going at least a three miles below, Kibou felt slight exhaustion, but was yet to give up on his swimming. He had a mission and he was yet to fail it, because he was going to protect her like he told the girl. With this thought in his head, he remembered the time he had and how low it was running to get on the ship before it took off. 'C'mon...where is this thing?' He asked himself, his question being answered as he saw a humongous dome widening below as he got closer and closer, noticing the smaller dome all around the side that was connected to the main dome. 'Hm...those must be the entrances.'

Deciding to figure it out, Kibou swam faster, the whole ship suddenly starting to dwarf over him as he got closer to it. 'This thing is humongous.' He spoke inwardly as he then flipped himself, letting his body float downward at the halt of his kicking. As he became leveled with one of side domes, he held onto it, his eyes searching over it in curiosity as he found a lens and looked into it with his left eye. He then noticed a button below it and pressed it in as he flinched, floating backwards as a green light came from the lens, causing him to blink when it started scanning him up and down.

His eyes widened, nervous that he would be caught before he was able to make it within the ship, but his fearful look had suddenly changed when a ding was heard. "What?" He was confused, and his confusion raised even more when a vertical slit came in existence as it open to both sides like a double to show the inside that seemed to be keeping the water out by some ozoo like substance. Not wasting any time, he stepped through it and touched down on the metal floor to see the pure white with a few lights blinked on the walls.

His brain then began to run rampant, wonderinv where on earth did they get all of this, his eyes scanning his surrounding, his eyes suddenly widening at a pale skin man at a locker, removing his chakra armor. 'He must've just got in.' He said, silently moving to the right to approach the man, both his fist as he got closer.

Before he could knock the man unconscious, Kibou had to sway backwards as the man swung around a back fist with his left hand, it fly pass his nose, having to step back as the man was facing him and now was sending a flurry of punches to him. Effortlessly, he parried each attack with his wrist as if it wad nothing, a solemn look on his face. 'I got to end this quickly.'

As he said this, the man lifted his left leg to kick him.

Being a lot faster than the man, Kibou moved his left hand and pushed the foot down, all while lunging forward and lifting his right hand, slamming his palm to the bottom of his mouth, which sent enough power to knock him unconscious. The man fell forward to the boy, but Kibou kicked him in the chest and into his locker, stuffing the man in as he ripped his chakra armor from his chest, holding it by the middle. He closed the door, holding it in tightly as he flashed the middle of the man's emblem in front of a lens, a click noise being heard.

He removed himself from the locker and hum as he looked to the emblem of the man's armor. "You guy's really have some top notch technology here." He said, sending a charge of lightning through the piece as it emitted a small explosion and then smoke. "A bit too advanced for this day and age." He tossed the emblem away as he then thought to himself, but it ended when he remembered he was to summon Kakashi.

Back on the surface and on the docks, Kakashi awaited the signal he was told about, Koyuki, Sakura, and Tenten speaking casually to one another. He already knew he wouldn't understand what they were talking about, because he could only give a male's point of views in things. It seemed they were trying to console Tenten on her moments with Kibou, who should've understood the hidden intent by the 'chan', but he surprisingly accepted the name, which meant he may HAVE got the gist of what she was trying to say. As he thought on the situation, a white outline of the seal flashed through the glove, which he identified as the signal. He nodded and turned to the females with a single hand seal in front if his face, sending the same amount of chakra to match Kibou. "Kibou seems to be inside now." He said as the three looked to him. "If there's any trouble, take Koyuki-sama back to the castle." And with that, he poofed away, leaving the blinking trio.

Awaiting his arrival, Kibou was leaning up next to the locker he had stuffed the man in, his right hand lifted with that single hand seal in front of his face as Kakashi had suddenly flashed into the room, standing in front of him, both with their hand in front if their faces.

Kakashi nodded to the younger boy, looking down at him. "Didn't have no problems getting in here, I'm guessing." He said, noticing their was no hint of any hardship in his face, which would mean he got into this place rather easy.

"No problem." Kibou said as he lifted from the locker, pushing himself from it as he crossed his arms over his chest. "But we need to get moving." He said.

"How long do we have until this placs takes off?" Kakashi asked.

"Not too long." Kibou answered as he looked up to the man, shaking his head. "This place is pretty big, so I might take us some time to find what we are looking for...so...I've decided...the both of us must find Hitomi and get out of here."

"What about the manufacturing of those devices?" Kakashi asked.

"I don't know." Kibou replied, being blunt. "But we must find the girl before the ship takes off because I have a very bad feeling if all the chakra of that dragon is absorbed."

"Okay." Kakashi nodded as the two of them dashed out of the entrance room and into the tube to the main ship, quickly gaining access, but to the various amount of halls.

The two had ran through the halls of the ship for at least ten minutes, taking some time out occasionally to deal with henchmen that figure out they were there. It only took them a few seconds to do this, but they needed all the time they could get, and this random roaming of this place didn't make things any better. They were only getting a lot more lost when they did this blindly.

"Wait, stop." Kakashi said, skidding to a stop as he was halted completely in the middle of the third crossroads since they had began looking.

Kibou jogged to a stop behind him and sighed, looking all three ways in a hurry. "Come on, Kakashi we must keep moving." He said, becoming a bit more anxious than he would like.

"Wait...there's a easier way to doing this." Kakashi said. "Use your eye and search for the largest chakra." He explained as he lifted both his hands, letting encase both of them. "Them we'll smash our way to her."

"Yeah." Kibou agreed as as he clapped his eye closed, feeling out all of the chakra in the area, finding at least forty henchmen with low chakra, but still now Hitomi.

"Anything yet?" Kakashi asked.

"Nothing." Kibou shook his head, his focus increasing as it spread out to a large area and hr sensed something. He could see Hitomi trapped in some sort of sphere in a large room. "Got it!" He exclaimed and pointed diagonally to the left as he created his lightning sphere in his right hand. "There!" He said as both him and Kakashi slammed their hand to where he was pointing, creating a massive explosion, which seemed to spread through out the ship.

**(Fifteen Minutes Later)**

It was the most destructive sight he ever saw in his life. He had been alive for sixteen years, but standing on the docks, watching as the aerodynamic ship was set aflame and was being devoured under the sea. It was tough, but he was able to successfully rescue Hitomi with the help of Kakashi and in a long run, awaken his Dojutsu in his right eye, his hair that was covering it pushed behind his ear. He sighed, his head lowering in exhaustion, that fight with Kentoro being the last thing he did that involved a man following orders from someone else. The chakra armor on his chest being destroyed, it falling from his body.

"So, that was pretty informative." Kakashi said to himself, standing to the left of Kibou, a hand on his hip as he watched the ship be swallowed under the sea.

"What exactly happened in there?" Sakura asked Kakashi, standing to his left, looking up to the man.

"I'll tell you some other time." Kakashi said as he sighed and lowered his headband over his left eye. He couldn't believe what Kibou did inside there and he didn't think the boy had it in him to do what he did. At this rate, he feared that Kibou would be swallowed by darkness if he didn't reconcile on what he did inside there.

Standing to Kibou right was Hitomi then Tenten, Koyuki standing in the back as a few of her guards tied up the survivors that leaped out of the ship before it could explode on the inside.

Before anything else could happen, a large portal that was wider than the dock itself opened in front of them.

"We should get moving." Kibou said as he looked down to Hitomi, his eyes fading from red as he deactivated his Dojutsu.

Sakura and Tenten gave Koyuki a backwards wave, the woman catching sight of this and looking over her shoulder. "See you next time, Koyuki-chan." The two said as the leaped through the portal, the rest leaping in after them.

Koyuki smiled as she watched the portal close behind them. "See you guys." Sge said and adverted her attention back to the men.

Back at the main gates of Konohagakure no Sato, a portal opened, startling a handful of civilians and shinobi all together as the group from Yuki no Kuni arrived back in the village, happy to see a familiar sight.

Hitomi was confused as she looked up to the sign, seeing the Konohagakure no Sato kanji. Her brow raised. "I thought we were suppose to be heading to Suna." She said to the group.

"The mission will be taken over by a Anbu squad." Kakashi said as he stepped in front of Hitomi and looked down to the shocked girl. "We must get our rest from the mission, so another squad will take over."

"Wha...?" Hitomi squeaked out, watching, her head shifting left and right as Kibou and the others stepped by Kakashi.

"Sorry to trade on you like this, but you'll be in the care of another capable team." Sakura said as she smiled down to the girl.

"But...I thought..." Hitomi began, but felt her throat dry.

"Don't worry about it, though." Tenten said as she smiled to the girl. "We will see you again, because the Chunin exams are in three days."

Hitomi looked over to the right and at the end to see Kibou standing there, looking at her out the corner of his eye with his arms crossed. "He-"

"Hey, Mistilteinn!"

The group her the yell and looked up toward the trail exiting out of Konoha to see Asa, the brown haired Ex-Anbu Captain walking to them with a hand on her hip.

This made a smile cross Kibou's face as he walked passed Hitomi and walked toward his surrogate mother, smiling as he got closer to her. It had been some time since the last time he saw the Abomination. "Asa." He said.

Asa smiled toward Kibou as the two stopped in front of one another. The smile stay on her face, noticing the hair and the lack of those rope like twist his hair was in. She rubbed his head and smiled deeper. "Whoa...you've changed a lot." She said. "How did it go?"

"Swimmingly." And he meant it literally after having to swim in the water to that ship. "A highlight is finding out my real name."

"So, he told you, huh?" Asa asked, moving her hand from his head and placed it back on her hip.

Kibou nodded.

"That means you go by Kibou Jitsugetsu now, right?" She asked, her head having to tilt a bit due to him being slightly taller. "I told him I would tell you." A sigh escaped her mouth.

"Well, we can talk about it when I see Tsunade about the end of the mission." Kibou said, turning away from her, but before he could leave, he was pulled back by his shoulder to face his mother once again. Looking to her, he noticed a larger smile on her face and this made him step back. "Wha..."

"I wanted to send a messenger pigeon over to you to tell you your mission will connect to the Chunin Exams." She said, causing his brow to raise. "Through a few hours of negotiating with the council of Suna, we were able to get you as a bodyguard and idea man for the Kazekage for the Chunin Exams." The woman told him, knowing he was one of the smartest in the village, probably under Shikamaru Nara.

"Uh...why?" Kibou asked, confusion on his face.

"Isn't it obvious?' She inquired. "The Chunin Exams are attracting a lot of attention, and having you out there where the Akatsuki can just snatch you up, so I and Tsunade-sama came up with this, so get moving and take the clan heiress with you."

"Hm." Kibou hummed as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "That's pretty smart...even for your standards."

"Oh, thank you." She said, her eyes closed with a smile on her face. "You'll be graded-" Her eyes cracked opened as she registered what the boy had said and glared at him. "You're so lucky I'm so happy to see you or I would reck your pretty little face."

Kibou smiled and snickered with her. "Come on." He turned his back to her. "You should meet her before we leave."

"Okay." Asa nodded and followed her son.

"So, she's not his real mother?" Tenten asked Kakashi, whispering toward the man as he shook his head.

"No, Tenten." Kakashi said. "He's more of a surrogate son to her."

As they talked about this, Sakura just chuckled, unable to believe that Tenten believe them that day. Shs had forgotten entirely that the Anbu Captain had told her that to hide Kibou identity.

"Even I can see that." Hitomi whispered, standing at the front of the group as she watched Kibou and the pale haired woman get closer. The two of then didn't remotely look alike and she could see this by first glance, something Tenten must have missed or jusr ignored.

As the two stopped in front of the four, Asa looked to Kakashi and gave him a small smile. "It's good to see you took care of him." She said.

"You told me to bring him back in one piece, and..." Kakashi said and nodded to the woman.

"That is good, Kaka-kun." Asa said as her eyes went to both Sakura and Tenten and smiled. "So, how was Kibou, girl?"

"Surprising." The two girl spoke simultaneously, this being the first word popping into both of their head after their time on the mission with the boy. He had been very interesting on the mission and shined in his own way.

"I bet." Asa agreed with them, remembering the training she had put Kibou through and the things he had learned through it, growing stronger with each day. "He has a lot to prove." She said and this caused them to smile, her eyes trailing to the last one to see a white haired girl, her hair being cut short. "So, you must be Hitomi Aisushawā." Saying this, she got down to one knee and was eye level with the girl. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The feeling is mutual." Hitomi said as she closed her eyes and gave a slight bow to the woman, holding respect for the woman who trained the boy that protected her so effectively. "I have to thank you for what you taught Kibou-kun."

Asa blinked. "Um...thank you." She said as she stood to her feet. "But don't get comfortable not having Kibou around, because he'll still be guarding you."

"What?" The Tenten, Kakashi, Sakura, and Hitomi questioned, all confused by what she had said.

"As I just explained to Kibou, he'll continue escorting Hitomi-sama to Suna where he will perform a few things Tsunade-sama have set up for him." Asa said, causing the four to blink at her, but Hitomi smiled softly.

Tenten looked to the woman, about to mouth the confusion the other two Konoha shinobi held. "But...what about the Chunin Exams? Suna is at two days away for him and another two back." She asked.

"We have made arrangements for this and have seen passed this."

**(A Few days later)**

Suddenly, two white scrolls were slammed on a wooden desk, both with the kanji for heaven plastered on both the tags.

The one that had set them down was a boy with short dark hair in a bowl, who had round eyes with large pupils and large, rectangular eyebrows. He wore green spandex with a red Konoha headband around his waist, his bandage wrapped hands pressed down on the scroll. The boy lifted up and looked to the man behind the booth. "Please accept these!" He said, hoping for the response he was looking forward to hear.

The man looked down to both the scrolls and raised a brow. "Two heaven scrolls?" He hummed, causing bowl haired boy to sweatdrop. "Yeah, we can't accept these."

"C'mon!" The boy groaned as he lifted both his hands over his head in a way that looked like he was about to pull his hair out. "Please, just bend the rules a bit."

"Hey, I'm not about to do that." Ths Suna shinobi disagreed and slammed his hands on the table.

Not being afraid to do the said, the weird looking boy slammed his hands on the table and got in the man's face. "Hey! There are certain things, which I cannot disclose, that prevented us from obtaining both of the scrolls!" He yelled. "Go ask Kazekage-sama!"

The Suna shinobi moved from the table and crossed his arms. "No matter the details, if you don't have both scrolls we can't accept them."

"Why you-"

Before he could finish, Tenten and a brown haired boy with milky white had grabbed the boy's arm and began pulling him away at his failed attempt, the two sighing at the hotheaded boy. "Come on, Lee."

"N-no, I can't let him win!" The boy dubbed as Lee yelled, leaving the man to pick his ear, the shinobi watching Lee with a questioning look.

Later that night in the Kazekage office, Suna Jonin and Konoha Jonin, plus one Chunin and one Genin, stood around the desk of the Kage, the young red haired boy looking to each of the individuals around his desk, gauging their reaction to what he just said, him being the type to not leave any room to say no.

"Cancel the third term!?" A blond haired girl by the name of Temari, wielding a large fan on her back yelled in shock.

Gaara, the Kazekage, looked to the left and at her, nodding. "Yes, and I am sorry." He said and looked back forward to everyone. "Though I must refrain from going into detail, this is a matter being settled within the sand."

Shikamary, a dark haired Chunin male, stepped forward. "Then how do we determine who has pass the exams without the third term?" He asked.

Gaara looked to Shikamaru. "We have done a very detailed report on each team's performance," The young male began. "And we will like it if you chose who passed the exams and how have failed." Hs said.

Shikamaru sighed, closing his eyes as he began to think, but shrugged before he could get too lost in thought, opening his eyes to look at the redhead. "Well, these exams were held to test there abilities..." He said. "You know, to take on mission."

A male with face paint by the name of Kankuro smiled. "We can't help that it happened to turn out this way." he nodded.

"Yes...but the participants put their lives on the line in a attempt to tranverse through the Demon Desert." Guy, a older Jonin, who resembled Lee, began as he looked to Gaara. "Will they be grateful?"

"I would be." Everyone's eyes were draw to the dark skinned boy that stood in the middle of Guy and Kurenai, him being quiet this whole time and just surprised them. "I mean, each of them ran through the same hurdles today and faced the same problems as the next man or woman." He said as he closed his eyes. "If we can't understand one another and still fight the next day, I will refer to you as scum. Just because I wear a different headband as you and stand for what I stand for, why can't I respect you a another person and not as a shinobi. From all the pain we have and will go through and the feeling of lose, this will unify us to one and we will be able to stop those from killing us." His eyes closed. "No matter my rank, I know my strength and being a Genin is not going to stop me."

As he finished, everyone looked to the boy, smiling, but minus Gaara who smile on the inside. Gaara nodded to the boy, his words reaching him and it stood for something all shinobi should stand for. 'Just because I stand for what I stand...it doesn't mean I can't respect as another person.' He spoke inwardly as he looked to the boy. "Kibou...follow me." He said, the boy looking to him for a few seconds before nodding.

The sun was beginning to rise the next morning, all who participated in the Chunin Exams standing outside of the Kazekage tower, all seemingly depressed by the rumors and speculation that the third term would be cancelled.

In a small patch, Konoha 11 chatted with one another about what was happening right now.

As if on cue, the brown haired boy with the milky white eyes walked back over to his friends and graduation class, flat line lips not indicating he had any new or not. "Guess it is true, the third exam will be cancelled."

"Ah, then what happens now, Neji?" Lee asked, looking for the closest snd smartest person around.

Tenten tilted her head to the side a bit, her hopes down as he said this. "I knew I had this weird feeling about this this whole whole time." She said in disappointment.

A boy with short brown hair stood next to her, two red fangs painted on his cheeks and he went by Kiba. "So, does this mean we did all this for nothing!" He yelled, very irritated by the predicament.

Across from his stood a taller boy, who wore a hood and a high collar jacket that hid the bottom of his face and round tinted shade that hid his eyes. "We, who stuck it out through the whole thing should not be the one's to worry." He spoke in a monotone. "Those who gave up midway shoved be the one who has to worry."

To his left stood a innocent girl by appearance with long navy blue hair and milky white eyes, holding her hands in front of her chest. This girl went by the name of Hinata. "I feel so sorry for them."

"Yeah, cuz all we earn was exhaustion and hunger." A chubby boy with orange red hair and chubby cheeks groaned as he looked to his friends.

"That's not really earning anything!" Ino, a platinum blond haired girl yelled to her teammate as she closed her eyes.

"Even if we did fail..." Sakura began with a smile. "Maybe our morale rose during this." As she said this, this sound of hollowed out wood clapping together caught their attention, causing them to turn around and look up at a balcony wear Gaara stood wearing robes.

Gaara stood there up top as he looked over all the participants thar had made it to Suna. "Exam Participants! I commend your effort!" He spoke loud enough for those below to hear his words. "Through time, our shinobi world have alway had a new set of rules and regulations." He said. "Until today, we have followed those laws to heart even if this meant risking the lives of ourselves or our comrades. But now, I've figured out what something that can bury those rules in the dirt!" He said, catching everyone attention, their eyes being draw to the young Kazekage. After he said this, everyone watched as a dark skinned came up and stood by his left side, which caused Sakura, Tenten, and Ino eyes to widen at seeing the boy. "There was one person before this one beside that opened my eyes...his name is Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure no Sato and he made me who I am today." He said as everyone watched him. "I met this boy before you a few days ago and he was charge with looking after me by the Hokage for reasons that must not be disclosed, but he has opened my eyes even more by telling me..." He silenced and looked over to Kibou.

Nodding, Kibou spoke. "I just told him that the each of you ran through the same hurdles today and faced the same problems as the next." He said as he closed his eyes. "If we can't understand one another and still fight the next day, I will refer to you as scum, because when we understand one another, wr become stronger as a whole. Just because I wear a different headband as you and stand for what I stand for, why can't I respect you a another person and not as a shinobi. From all the pain we have and will go through and the feeling of lose, this will unify us to one and we will be able to stop those from killing us."

After he said this, everyone looked to him, his words digesting in their attempt to understand what the boy had just said to them, some humming and clappimg for his words and how he acknowledged the Ninja World. Gaara nodded. "For those who understand, you know that the bonds we hold with fellow ninja helps us grow, so I am rescinding the second exam." He said as some questioned it. "Through a detailed file is your progress on the exams and it will be left in the hand of you Kage to promote you."

Kiba groaned as he put a hand on his hip. "So, that mean we have to waut even longer to be promoted?" He asked as he looked to his friends.

"Who care?" Lee was grinning wide as he clinched his fist and threw them into the air. "This mean we still have a chance."

**(Four days later)**

It has been almost a week since the Chunin Exams had taken place, and the eagerness of some only rival how long it took for this day to come. Most where estatic, unable to wait to see if they were being promoted or staying a Genin like those who quit the Exams in the middle.

So, as of now, those who participated had been called to the Hokage's office to hear the results with one being a Genin who didn't participate, but his mission had a stipulation if he did well with Gaara, then he would get something special.

Tsunade looked to each of the shinobi, Shikamaru to her left and Shizune to her right with Asa, the former Anbu Captain sitting on the right side of her desk. "I've gone through the reports and Sakura, Choji, Ino, Kiba, Hinata, Shino...you passed with no hassle at all."

At her saying this, Lee's head lowered, hearing the lack of his squads name. 'So, I guess those two scrolls weren't enough.' He said, a look of failure on his face.

Tsunade turned her head to three other Genin. "Kumugi, Gennai, Inaho...the two of you may have better luck next time." And with that, the three Genin groaned as a look of depression to over their faces. Next, she turned back to the group. "And though they were unable to deliver the correct scrolls, the Kazekage said they performed admirably...Tenten, Lee, you are promoted to Chunin."

This caused the two to give a open mouth smile and look to one another, but suddenly noticed a lack of a name and this made Lee turn back to Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, wait, what about Neji? Remember, there is no I in te-"

"'Let me finish' has two!" Tsunade yelled and caused Lee to flinch. "As I was saying, Neji Hyuga has been qualified for a double promotion." She said. "The Kazekage noted himself that his performance was quite spectacular in comparison to other and you have proven yourself to be a Chunin."

The white eyed boy showed a soft smile as his two teammates began congratulating him, but they did drown out his thanks toward Tsunade.

"And lastly," Tsunade turned her head to the left to see Kibou standing next to Tenten and her speaking seemed to catch everyone's eyes. "Kibou Jitsugetsu..." She began as Kiba whispered "Isn't that the guy from that speech" to Hinata, who gave a silent "I think so". The woman picked up a stack of paper and tapped it on the desk, Asa looking out the corner of her eye to her student standing straight. "You've been here for at least two months now and you've complete fifteen D rank missions, thirteen C rank missions, a single A rank mission, and a single S rank mission, I my myself getting stacks and stacks of paper of your performance and non-stop blabbering from this one." She said and pointed her thumb to the woman sitting on her desk. "Besides her, you have also been qualified for a double promotion..."

Kibou nodded, not to effected by this and Tenten noticed this.

"But this position will not official to you until the spot on Team 7 is filled by its former member, Sasuke Uchiha." She said. "Understand?"

"Yes." Kibou nodded. "So, this means I'm a Chunin for the time being?"

"Yes." Tsunade answered.

As everyone began celebrating, Shikamaru stared out of the window after a comment Kiba had made about Naruto. 'He's gonna be pissed when finds out he missed the Chunin Exams.'

At that very moment, deep within the woods in Hi no Kuni, a boy with messy blond hair and blue eyes was with a older man with long white haired tied back in a ponytail, who laid on his side as he stared into the fire set in the middle of them.

'Its almost about that time to start wrapping up his training and head back to Konoha, huh?' The questioned himself as he watched the boy ear fish of a stick. The man then attempted to push himself up to his feet, showing the obvious bandages around his chest, a sudden sting of pain reminding him not to move, but stay on one knee.

"You should stop moving, Pervy Sage." The blond haired boy spot to the man and devoured the last of the fish as the man just smirked to him. The boy had leaped up to his feet and punch a hand in his fist, a large grin on his face. "I need to continue my training."

**(Four months later)**

Tenten sighed as she looked into the bowl of her miso soup she ate at Ichiraku ramen, her thought on Kibou and how he still wasn't noticing her even after these last few month. The best she got out of him was her able to vall him Ki-chan, buf he never came up for a nickname for him.

"Hey, Tenten, what's the matter?" On her left side, the soft and kind voice caught her attention as she saw Hinata sit next to her, a look of worry on her face.

Once again, Tenten sighed. "Where do I begin?"

"This path sure brings back memories." The blond haired boy walked alongside the white haired man, his hands behind his head with his eyes closed and a toothy grin that could be recognized from miles away.

The man next to him by the name of Jiraiya, but it was Pervy Sage to the boy and him calling himself this usually screwed up his game when he was macking on all the girl. "Naruto, it's just a pathway." The man sighed. "We're not even in Konoha and you are already taking a trip down memory lane."

"Hey, you can't blame me over how long I've been away from the village." Naruto said in a matter of factly tone. "Everything seemed to remind me of the place...even my..." He looked down to eye his orange jumpsuit from when he was thirteen, but it had been replaced with a smaller black and orange one. "Oh, yeah." He seemed to slump at him having to get rid of his old digs.

"You really miss that thing, don't you? " Jiraiya asked as he looked to the boy, a look of concern on his face.

"Yeah..." Naruto mumbled.

"How bout I treat us to some long awaited Ichiraku ramen." Jiraiya asked the boy, knowing the response to this.

"Ichiraku?" Naruto seemed to perk up at hearing this, throwing his fist in the air. "C'mon, let's get moving."

Jiraiya groaned in realization. "He got me again." He whispered, his eyes catching something coming toward from where he remembered the training field of Konoha was at. This caused him to stop and analyze the person coming toward them.

Naruto noticed this too and stopped beside Jiraiya, watching as a dark skinned male, by closer look, walk to them, but he guessed the male would be turning with them to get into Konoha. Whatever the male was wearing as a top was tosses oved his chest to show his fishnet to and his blood red eyes.

**End**

**Hey, y'all! I know this was a very long chapter, but I wanted to get straight into Canon with this chapter, but the more insignificant arcs in Naruto will be getting skipped like that Pseudo Jinchuriki arc abd I'm debating if I should just partially skip Asuma death. **


	8. Enter! Naruto and Kibou

So...wassup, you guys. I went through some complications which involved me having to get a new phone, because the screen of my Galaxy just stopped working, but I was able to get a upgrade so I think it worked out.

This chapter is the official start of this fanfic, the rest just being a precursor to the Canon story.

To begin this, I have come to a conclusion that I will be skipping the fillers and Asuma's death, but Naruto's fight with Kakuzu will happen. There will be maybe a dialogue between villagers or shinobi to inform them then the funeral.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...only my ocs.

**The Route to Enlightenment**

**Prologue**

'Who is this guy?' Naruto spoke inwardly, eyeing the boy careful as the dark skinned boy eyed him. He directly into the eyes of the boy, his blood red orbs staring directly back him. 'He feels...weird...' He said as his stomach began to bubble, the first thing his eyes noticing was his navy blue cargo shorts that fell to below his knees with his kunai holster strapped to his right thigh and a brown holster hanging from his left hip that held two regular sized scrolls, also noticing his legs were wrapped in black bandages. His eyes trailed upward and skipped over his body that failed to be his by a revealing fishnet top to see a black garment in his left hand and tossed over his shoulder, the boy's hair being black and cut short to the middle of his neck with a long bang framing both sides of his face that fell to his shoulder and two bangs on both sides of his forehead, curving inwardly and over the black clothed headband with the Konoha insignia and a silver studded earring in his left ear.

The last thing Naruto noticed about the boy was his red eyes that was even brighter than Kurenai-sensei's and this unnerved him greatly, a sweat drop falling from his neck. It was a bit unsettling, this making him to feel discomfort in this due to his eyes feeling a lot like Sasuke's Sharingan, the red only increasing it. He took a closer look at the boy, having a guess that his eye was no Dojutsu, but just his base eye color, though it didn't change the fact that it was unbearable to look at. It was as if he was staring directly through him, and this was a feeling that he would never be able to get accustomed to.

It had a sinister feel to it as if it was looming over both him and Pervy Sage, but the boy looked to be friendly enough...if a stoic stare told anyone anything...and they usually didn't.

He was sure this boy was an ally due to his headband, so being wary of him was not even in the question. But who was he? He didn't recognize him from before, which probably meant he was a no name ninja. Or maybe the guy had joined the ranks of the village while he was out training with Pervy Sage for the past few years.

"Can I help you with something?"

Naruto looked to the boy, blinking in confusion as the boy, this snapping him from his own stupor. Coming back to his own senses, he had realized he had been gawking at the boy, which Pervy Sage had apparently found funny, the older man snickering to himself. "Wha...?"

The boy lifted his right hand and circled it around his head. "What do you find interesting over in this region?" He asked, relaxed, showing how calm he was, though his piercing eyes said different.

Naruto shook his head at the boy, waving his hands with his eyes closed, s sheepish grin across his face. "Nothing..." He said, letting a short chuckle escape his mouth, a sweatdrop falling down his head to show how uncomfortable he was at this moment. "Nothing at all."

"Alright." The dark skin boy nodded to Naruto as he continued on his way to the village.

"Wait!" Naruto called out to the boy, taking a single forward before he could make his way in the village, stopping him just before he could turn.

The raven haired individual stopped and looked up to the blond haired boy, eyeing him for a good second before he asked "What" in his mature tone.

"Um...well..." Naruto began, scratching the back of his head, shifting his arm to point forward and passed the boy to where Konoha's training ffield was located at. "You're coming from the training field, right?" He asked.

The boy nodded.

"I couldn't help this nagging feeling but to ask you what rank are you?"

"I am a Jonin." He said as he then slid his right arm down the short sleeve of a leather vest/hoodie combo and did this with his other arm, zipping it up to the centre of his chest as the collar folded out and the fabric hood rested on his shoulders.

Naruto looked a bit shocked by this, his eyes widening at the boy, taking in the feature that this boy looked no older than him, but he was already a Jonin, which meant he was ahead of him.

Jiraiya smirked, crossing his arms over his chest as he analyzed the boy, finding his eyes very interesting. If he could remember properly, those eyes had played a part in the Third Shinobi War, but had been killed off before the end. "Hey, kid..."

The dark skin boy looked passed Naruto and to the older, white haired man.

"If I'm not stepping over any bounds," Jiraiya began, placing a hand on his hip, looking dead at the boy. "Do you have a clan by any chance?"

The boy stared to the man for a few seconds, noticing a strong presence within him, which prompted a hum to come from his mouth. He closed his eyes. "Well, I have been told that I belong to a clan by the name Jitsugetsu..." He said, causing Naruto to scratch his cheek, lost, and Jiraiya to hum again.

"But to my knowledge, the last Jitsugetsu was killed in the war." Jiraiya informed. "Your clan has been extincted for years now."

"Yes...I have been enlightened about these unfortunate events." The male said, nodding to Jiraiya before he had decided to depart from both him and Naruto.

As the boy left them, Jiraiya blinked. "Was it something I said?" He asked himself.

"Well," Naruto turned to him with a cocky look on his face. "You did bring up the boy's dead clan..." He said as the older man looked down to him, blinking. "Even I'm not that stupid." But he someone he knew who's entire clan had been wiped out by his own brother, so he already had enough practice with not saying something stupid.

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, lowering it as he let out a sigh. He really did just do something that Naruto would think twice about doing...and when Naruto had him beat in what was the most logical thing to do and not do, then where did this possibly leave him in this world. "Oh, no..." He sighed again, a 'all is lost' look on his face.

Naruto looked up to Pervy Sage and titled his head to the left, blinking. "You okay, Pervy Sage?"

**(Break)**

It had been some time since he had departed from the blond hair and that white haired individual, which brought him into Konoha, walking through the village with both his eyes lowered a bit, a dismal expression written all over his face. He had been walking for some good time, so caught up in his own thoughts that he completely ignored people greeting him, wondering why he felt this way and what had caused it. It was as if someone had been compressing his heart...just flattening it until it would burst out of his chest.

He had built himself up since becoming a Jonin, training vigorously top call himself a Jonin. Through the months of training and random missions with Sakura and Kakashi, taking on a few with others of the Konoha 11, he was unaware of the name he was supposedly making for himself, enough for people to recognize him throughout the village. He was glad for the respect he was getting, being a sixteen year-old Jonin, but he knew Kakashi had become a Jonin at a much younger age. Though with this knowledge, this didn't halt him from becoming stronger so that he could protect Asa.

A low sigh escaped his mouth, his raven colored hair, namely his low bangs, blowing to the left from the calm breeze that made his hair brush against his cheek. 'Was it because of what he said?' The boy asked himself, remembering back to the man with red face paint. Is it because of what he said about his clan; that they were all dead? That couldn't be...

It was true that he had ties with the clan, him being apart of the clan lineage, but he had never met any of them, so where was these feelings stirring from?

"Are you okay,"

The dark skinned boy looked up, being rocked from his thought, eyes meeting with a girl with pale skin and dark blue hair that fell down to her lower back, having two bangs framing her face, which mimicked his bangs. She was a bit shorter than him, wearing a lavender and cream colored hoodie that was zipped up to the top with navy blue baggy pants.

"Kibou-kun?" The girl asked him, noticing the forlorn look on his face.

Sighing, the boy dubbed as Kibou nodded, showing her a small smile. "I'm fine, Hinata." The boy reassured the shy girl, who was currently holding her hands in front of her chest. "I'm...just thinking."

"Oh, that's good." Hinata smiled. "I saw the look on your face while I was walking and I got worried."

"I appreciate your concern." Kibou said, nodding to the girl. "But I think I will be alright."

"Well, that is reassuring." Hinata lowered her arms, but she then began to fiddle with her finger, her gaze lowering as the conversation she had with Tenten had found it's way to the front of her mind, taking a step backward in time. She looked back up and to the boy, her soft eyes landing on his red eyes. "But, if I'm not overstepping any boundaries, may ask you a question?"

Kibou shrugged, giving the girl his usual catatonic stare. "Wouldn't be the first someone asked me this today."

"Oh..." Hinata blinked a few times at him saying this, but nodded. "Um...how do you see Tenten-chan?" She inquired, waiting to guage his reaction to her question. It wasn't her place to actually get in between her infatuation to the boy, but it wouldn't hurt if she gave the oblivious boy a little nudge toward her.

Much like her from before, Kibou blinked a few time in confusion of her question, wondering what she meant by this. How did he see Tenten? He couldn't relate to some, knowing there were some shinobi around the village, including her teammates, that saw her as being convenient...but...he saw her as something different. "She's a friend and good shinobi?" He said and half asked, wondering if this answer was what Hinata wanted to hear.

Hinata refrained from letting her brow twitch at the answer, keeping the shy look on her face, though it had a look of wanting to push him in the direction of the right answer. "N-no, Kibou-kun..." She said as she stepped forward and got closer to him, holding her hands in front of her chest.

A grunt was release from his mouth as the girl stepped closer to him, though he had stepped back in tandem with the girl. "Wha-what I do?" He asked, his eyes widening at her advancing to him.

Hinata eyes were wide too, but not in shock. She was trying to let him find the right answer because it seemed that he was totally oblivious to someone liking him. "How do you feel about her?" She asked, deciding to change her approach to a more direct one, which Kibou could possibly see.

"What are you talking about?" Kibou asked, nervous that this had more of a deeper meaning, but he spouted up the first thing that came to the front of his head. "I like her..." He said.

Hinata blinked a few times, settling back down as she heard what he had said, taking a retreating step back. Did he understand finally and come to a conclusion to how he felt about Tenten. If this was true, then Tenten could finally atta-

"I mean, she is a good friend and one of the first I would pick to be my partner." Kibou continued, this wiping the hope off of Hinata's face and get replaced with a looked that was in awe. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Hinata opened her mouth, but closed it in slight shock. She from first hand that Kibou was as smirk as Shikamaru and deserved his Jonin status, but sometimes could be the most oblivious person to walk the lands. As this thought came to her, a flash of a well known, blond, knucklehead boy.

"Well, isn't this a strange pair."

At hearing this voice, Kibou groaned as his eyes shifted to look behind Hinata as the looked over her left shoulder, both seeing a girl with pale blond hair that was tied in a high ponytail that reached down to her hips with a long bang covering her right eye, her left iris being a faded blue with a red clip in her hair. She was wearing a purple no sleeve midriff blouse with a purple apron that was split down the middle to reveal black shorts.

It was rare, him usually having a cool mind, but it was now a fact that both him and this girl did not like one another, going on a mission with her once and that was all he could take with being around. He sometimes lost his footing when being her, the girl able to hit the right buttons to get him to grow irritated.

"Oh, hey, Ino-chan." Hinata greeted and turned to the approaching girl, who walked up to the with a hand on her hip.

Kibou's brow twitched as he watched the girl from behind Hinata.

Ino stopped at least three feet from Hinata and gave the dark haired girl a short wave and a smile. "Hey, Hinata-chan." She said, her eyes trailing passed her to the dark skin boy behind her, noticing that annoyed look on his face. A hand was placed on her hip as she smirked. "Why are you here with him?"

"We we-" Hinata began to speak in her soft tone, but was overtaken by the more masculine voice of Kibou.

"Well, if it isn't miss beauty pageant." Kibou spat out.

Ino flipped her bang in a self-absorbed way, keeping her hand on her hip. "Awe, thank you." She shot back casually as she continued to smirk at the boy. "It's pretty hard to keep up with my beauty, so thanks for noticing."

"I wasn't complimenting you." Kibou added, his brows furrowed in aggravation.

Ino lifted her right hand closed her eyes, letting it hang as she snickered to herself. "Yeah, but anything coming from is blocked out and all I hear is 'Oh, Ino, why can't I be as cool and beautiful as you' from that mouth of yours." She did a horrible impression of him.

Kibou glared passed Hinata and to the cocky girl. "How dear you besmirch my attitude?" He clinched his fist as he stepped forward.

"It was nothing to besmirch to begin with." Ino said as she stepped forward in tandem with Kibou.

In the middle, Hinata looked back and forth at the two that was about to make a sandwich with her, becoming very nervous around the two of them. She tried to stop the two with words, but she was drowned out by the two going back and forth with one another. Just before they could make a sandwich with her, she lifted both her arm and put them against their chest to stop their advances, which caused the two to blink and look down at her.

"Please stop."

Once again, the two blinked.

"I know a Jonin can't be seen in such a way." Hinata said as she looked over to the left and at the boy, keeping her hand on his to keep the boy away.

Hearing her, Kibou let out a soft sigh and relaxed, taking a step back. "Yes, you are right." He said with a short nod.

Also listening to the girl, Ino blinked as her eyes trailed toward the boy in realization as that meeting a few months ago had popped into the front of her mind of her being promoted to the rank of Chunin. She hummed and remember that Kibou did get promoted to the rank of Jonin, though he had not participated in the Chunin Exams. The reason she didn't remember this was because every time they met, they argued. Mentally nodding herself, she spoke. "Speaking of seeing you like this..." She began and caught their attention. "Did any of you hear that yell a few minutes back?"

The two shook their heads.

Ino smirked. "What would Naruto think of you if he saw you like this today." She asked, pointing down to Hinata right arm and where it was touching.

'Wait, Naruto?' Kibou questioned in his thoughts.

Hinata eyes trailed down and saw that her hand was squeeze Ino's left breast. She whipped her arm back and stepped toward the left, turning her back to Kibou, ultimately bumping into him, which made him grunt and step back. A blush crossed her cheeks, attempting to hide it with her hands, but her eyes then widened taking in what Ino had told her. 'Wait, Naruto-kun is back?' She asked herself within her thoughts. As this came to the front of her mind, thousands of images of Naruto appeared in her mind, that blush spreading across her face, unable to hide this. Her eyes were widened, her heart racing uncontrollably.

Watching the girl in confusion, both Ino and Kibou looked up to one another, both showing how confused they were at the girl's reaction.

Looking over Hinata, Kibou mouthed "What did you do" to Ino.

The pale blond girl looked over Hinata and shrugged, mouthing "I haven't a clue" back to the boy.

Trying to keep control of the blush on her face with the thought of being able to see Naruto since these years that had passed, her blush only continued to grow and her heartbeat began more to the point where she felt herself fading. Her eyes began to lower, her body being to tip over to the left, going unconscious as her body went into a freefall.

Both Ino and Kibou's eyes widened at seeing this, causing the boy to quickly catch her, keeping the girl up by her armpits.

Mumbling to himself, Kibou looked up to Ino with a raised brow. "I think she likes Naruto."

Ino's brow twitched at him saying this, placing both her hands on her hips. "Ugh, and that you DO notice, huh!" She yelled due to Tenten's blatant show affection to him, but he noticed that Hinata liked Naruto with a few seconds. Guess boys would be boys.

"What?"

**(Scene Change)**

"It's been a long time you two."

Meanwhile at the Hokage Residence, Tsunade, a blond haired woman with hazel eyes, sat in the office of the mansion and at the desk of the Hokage with Shizune, a dark haired, pig carrying, kimono wearing woman, standing to the left of the desk. She, herself had her hands folded on her desk as she looked at the three individuals in front of her with a smirk on her face: Jiraiya, Naruto, and Sakura from left to right. "I hope you two haven't been slacking off in your training." She said. directing this to both Jiraiya and Naruto.

Jiraiya closed his eyes and chuckled shortly. "Ha...you think I would come back to the village without producing a top notch ninja?" He asked his fellow Sannin.

Naruto pointed his thumb to his chest, his usual foxy grin across his face, shifting the whisker marks on his cheeks. "No sweat, Baa-chan...mission accomplished."

"Good, I wouldn't want it any other way." Tsunade said and folded her hands in front of her face. "How bout you show me what you got then, kid."

Naruto lowered his arm, a look of bewildered taking over his face. "Wait, wha...?" He spoke out, tilting his head. "You mean right now?"

Tsunade shook her head. "There happen to be two people I want you to go up against." She said, causing Naruto to scratch the back of his head at the word two, Sakura eyes narrowing, knowing the two she had in mind. "I kept both of them off missions for the pass few days, so they could be ready for just this moment." She silenced, letting the fact that a certain Jonin had been let off from missions, but that didn't change his training regimen. "Your opponents will be..."

Before she could finish, two knocks came to the door, drawing everyone's attention to it as it began to open, two individuals walking in, which had seemed to surprise Naruto, him letting out a gasp at the sight.

The first person was a male, about his height with fair skin and in hair tied up in a high ponytail that made his head resemble a pineapple, his eyes being lowered with dark brown irises. The second was a female with dirty blond hair that was pulled back in four short ponytails, a few bangs hiding both sides of her forehead, it completely being hid by a black headband with a metal plate, having a hourglass insignia in the middle.

"Sup." The male greeted casually, one hand in his pocket.

Seeing who it was, Sakura waved the two over. "Shikamaru, Temari, look who's here." She said with a large smile on her face.

The two stepped forward, blinking one single time.

"Could that be..." Shikamaru eyed the boy for a few seconds, humming as he narrowed his eyes. After coming to an conclusion, his eyes widened as he smiled. "There's no mistaking it, it is you, Naruto!"

"Oh, hey, Shikamaru!" Naruto greeted back with a large smile on his face.

Temari, the blond haired girl with the large fan on her back, stared at the boy in obvious shock. 'Is that that pipsqueak?'

Naruto walked up to the dark haired boy m, grinning like a mad man with his hand behind his head.

Shikamaru grinned along with the boy, sending him a short wave. "Well, look who finally decided to show his face."

"Yeah, I got back today."

"Hmph, who thought you would still the same old clumsy, knuckle headed...well, I mean the same..." Shikamaru quickly corrected himself. "Looks like you changed; grown up a bit on me."

Naruto just stood there, grinning at the compliment he received from his old friend.

"Yeah, the only thing that changed was his height." Sakura interjected, waving her hand in front of her nose.

"I really didn't think so." Shikamaru said with his eyes closed.

"Dang, Sakura..." Naruto doubled over with a sigh. "Why you got to do ya boy like that?"

This caused Tsunade and Shizune to laugh in the blond's expense, though Jiraiya was left with a smug pout, at them literally saying he was unable to change that personality of his.

Lifting up from his funk, Naruto had realized something, looking to both Shikamaru and that blond hair girl next to him. "Does this mean the two of you are...uh..." He silenced as he locked eyes with the green eyed girl. He stepped in a lot closer to her,quickly invading her personal space, squinting his eyes and looking her up and down. "And...you are?"

Temari's brows furrowed as her bottom lip poked out a bit. "You don't remember me!" She exclaimed.

"Naruto." Tsunade called out to him sternly, grabbing the boy's attention. "You are not going to find your opponents in here." She said all while lifting her right hand, pointing outside the window. "How bout you try checking out there."

"Huh?" Naruto raised a brow, but followed orders, walking over to said window. Before raising it, he looked out it, looking at his reflection and dragged his hand through his hair as he made kissy faces.

"Naruto!" Sakura rushed him.

Eyes widening in fear of being punched once more, he quickly lifted the window, shifting his head to the right first, but only saw the village, then he looked to the left to see a older man who he recognized off first glance. The man having gravity defying grey hair that swooped to the left with dull black eye, the left one being covered by his headband. He was sitting reading an all too familiar orange book.

"So, Naruto..." The man began, looking away from the book and to his old student. "You went and got all grown up on me."

"Hehe," Naruto chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Wouldn't be the first or second time I heard that today, Kakashi-sensei." He said and leaped over edge out the window to stand on the footing. "Yeah, but you haven't changed at all, Kakashi-sensei." He said,his eyes becoming a lot more active as he eyed the area, noticing it was only Kakashi there. "Wait, I thought Baa-chan said there would be two of you."

Kakashi closed his eye, letting out a soft sigh. "Kibou is probably just out in the village relaxing-"

**(Scene Change)**

'This is not how I thought I would be spending my day.' Kibou droned in his thoughts, his eyes lowered as he followed Ino, holding a unconscious Hinata bridal style, to the Hyuga compound, enduring her constant nagging.

**(Scene Change)**

"Before the exercise later on." Kakashi said.

"Kibou?" Naruto hummed to himself, scratching his cheek. "I don't think I heard that name before."

"What?" Kakashi looked away from his book and to Naruto. "Sakura haven't told you about him yet?" He asked, curious.

"Told me about what?" He questioned as he looked to the man, digging in his pouch with his left hand, both Sakura and Tsunade watching the two makes, exchanging a few words.

"If she hasn't told you about him, I should..." Before Kakashi could properly finish, he saw a green book coming out the pouch to be fully revealed as the next Icha Icha book he had been waiting, this causing him to drool from behind his mask. "It can't be." He said in shock, his hand trembling.

Naruto held it out to the man. "Yep, the first new issue of Icha Icha in the last three years." He said, watching as the man took the book. "I dunno, the book was pretty dry to ne, but I know you like these books."

On the inside of the office, Jiraiya had turned his back to the window, huffing as he crossed his arms over his chest. 'Little brat...he wouldn't know proper literature if it came and bit him and the ass.' He spoke to himself. 'There are those that would practically kill for a copy...it haven't even been released yet.'

Back outside on the footing, Kakashi had begun slowly opening the book, in his mind a heavily light shining through as if he was holding the Holy Grail itself, laughing like a maniac.

"Tone it back, Kakashi." Tsunade said sternly, secretly disgusted by it. "Quit joking around already." She said as she walked back to her chair.

Kakashi hummed a bit, slapping the book closed with his right hand as her stood up straight to his feet.

Naruto eyes followed the man. "So, who's this Kibou guy?"

Walking over to the window Naruto had previously leaped out of, Kakashi put his arm on the side of it as he looked to Sakura. "You want to tell him?" He asked, looking down to the girl on the other side of the window.

"Yes, Sensei." Sakura nodded to him, watching as Naruto made his way and stood beside Kakashi. She looked to her friend and began. "Well, Kibou..." She started, but didn't know where to take it, knowing Naruto may overreact to this.

"Yeah, wassup, Sakura?"

"Kibou is..." Sakura started again and looked the boy straight in his eyes. "He's a Jonin..." She said. "And Team 7's replacement for Sasuke."

Naruto stared at Sakura for a few seconds, mumbling "Replacement for Sasuke" in a very low tone. His head lowered, his hair shadowing his eyes. "But we don't need a replacement for Sasuke." He growled, his fist shaking, everyone watching him, understanding the pain of having Sasuke replaced by some guy.

"Naruto, we made this decision a long time ago and both Kakashi and Sakura agreed to this." Tsunade informed the boy. "And this only stands til Sasuke returns, because I already have things for him to do."

Naruto head lifted and looked at the woman, obvious pain in his ocean blue eyes. "That's not Team 7, Baa-chan." He shook his head, sending away the only tear that threatened to fall. "If this new guy joins us, it won't be Team 7-"

"Stop acting like a brat, Naruto!" Tsunade exclaimed, slamming her fist to the desk, causing Shizune to look to it in worry.

This yell seemed to knock Naruto out of that funk, staring to the Hokage.

"This isn't up for debate, Naruto." She said and glared to him. "Now, listen to Kakashi."

Naruto grunted, not seeing eye to eye with Tsunade on this one, his preference on not having a newcomer in Team 7, but his was his word against her's so he visibly calmed and listened to Kakashi, leaping on the other side of the window. Just because they had a new teammate didn't mean he would have to like him.

Nodding, Kakashi began. "As to who our opponents will be..." He said leaping onto the window ledge as Jiraiya smirked on the other side of the room. "It will be both you and Sakura."

"Wait, what?" Naruto eyes were wide. "Both of us at once?"

"That is correct, Naruto." Tsunade answered, grabbing theur attention, everyone looking to her. "Both Kakashi and Kibou will test you two and depending on how you two do, it will decide you status for the future."

Shikamaru heard this, humming to himself as he placed his fist on his hips. "That's interesting..."

"Sakura." Tsunade called to her protege as the pink haired girl turned to the woman behind the desk. "It's time for you to show them your training with me wasn't a waste of time."

Sakura turned fully to the woman, a look of absolute determination on his face. "Right."

"So, I guess we should get started then, huh."

Both Sakura and Naruto turned back to look up at Kakashi with a hum.

"No...I guess your right." Kakashi closed his eye and shook his head. "You just got back, so I should let you rest."

"As if," Naruto threw his right arm out to the right. "Bring it on, I'm not tired."

"No, no." Kakashi said as he turned partially on the ledge. "You rest up for a bit and meet me at the training field later." He lifted his hand with a single seal. "See ya." And with that, a plum of smoke came into existence as the man vanished.

"Well...that was pretty strange." Shizune said as she looked over to Tsunade. "What could possibly be going on that he had to leave so abruptly?"

Tsunade sighed and sat back in her seat, crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, and it don't take a scientist to figure out why."

"He's in a hurry to crack open that book." Shikamaru said, smirking a bit.

"Oh." Naruto pointed to Sakura as the girl pointed back to him, but sharing a collective hum.

"So, that explains that familiar spark in his eye." Sakura deduced.

Jiraiya chuckled, his eyes closed as he nodded to himself. 'Yes. Of course he want to read it.' He said in his thoughts, praising himself to the fullest extent. "Who doesn't?"

**(Break)**

"That Kakashi-sensei still hasn't changed one bit."

It had been a few minute since they had left the Hokage tower and was now walking through the village.

Naruto sighed, walking beside Sakura with his hands behind his head with his eyes closed. "I swear, I should have never gave him that corny book." He said as he looked to the left at Sakura. "He cares more about that book than he does about our training."

"Well, you know what they say," Sakura shrugged with her eyes closed. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." She said and sighed. "When taste goes out the window, right?"

"Yeah, I guess." Naruto grumbled.

"But this is good." Sakura said, clinching her fist. "Now we have time to strategize."

As they began to strategize, keeping a distance about three feet away from was both Temari and Shikamaru walked behind the recently reunited team, but they had been stopped a Naruto slid back to them with a mischievous look on his face, his behind his hand.

"So, you two fooling around or what?" Naruto asked with a perverse giggle.

"Now this is the furthest you've been from a fact." Shikamaru spoke, his casual tone usually hard to deal with.

"Ha, you're kidding me, right?" Temari asked rhetorically, both her hands on her hips. "The Chunin Exams are coming up, so I've been back and forth between both our villages."

"Yeah, and I'm her escort and this us such a drag." Shikamaru said with his head hung a bit. "Please don't ask how this happened, but I got put in charge of organizing the Chunin Exams."

"Hm...the Chunin Exams." Naruto let out, his eyes lowering as the memory of the last Chunin Exams had resurfaced. There was the first time he met Gaara and fought for the safety of thd village, in the end defeating the red haired boy. "That sure takes me back."

"Speaking of which, what are you gonna do?" Shikamaru asked the boy.

"Do with what?"Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"About the Chunin Exams." He specified to the blond boy, who only let out a simple 'huh'. "Come on, Naruto, you are the only one in our year that is still a Genin."

"Wha..." Naruto stood in front of Shikamaru, his eyes at what the boy had said, getting a strange feeling that was left alone, being held back by something. "Whaaaaaat!" He yelled, eyes about to bulge out his head. His head turned to the right and to Sakura. "Sakura, you've been appointed to Chunin?"

Sakura gave him a eye closed smile and gave him the victory V with her right hand. "You know it." She said happily.

"Boy, you haven't even heard the gist of things." Shikamaru began, his expression never changing. "Kankuro, Neji, and Temari has taken it a step forward and became Jonin."

"Jonin."

"Yep." Shikamaru nodded. "But the highlight of the last Chunin Exams was that Kibou guy becoming a Jonin only after two months of being a Genin, making a record of completing a set amount of missions in such a little time."

As he said this, Naruto swallowed a knot in his throat, a sweatdrop falling down the side of his head. Only after two months of being a Genin...he had been appointed to being a Jonin.

"He had even went as far as to impress Gaara." Shikamaru finished.

"Impressed Gaara..."Naruto raised a brow. "What does Gaara have to do with this?" He asked, causing Temari and Shikamaru to look to one another.

"Well, Naruto..." Temari began. "My younger brother is the Kazekage of our village."

"Gaara became...Kaze...kage?" Naruto mouthed out, his gaze lowering to the ground, his eyes wide. He was in disbelief: this boy Kibou become a Jonin after two months of being a Genin and now Gaara was the Kazekage. With his luck in the Academy when he was younger and his dream to be Hokage, he couldn't help but smile, his eyes lifting to look up at the Hokage monument. "Good..." It was strange, but he couldn't help, but just smile and point up to the faces, the three looking to him in slight shock. "But I'm not being shown up by you Gaara, because I'm right behind you."

At him saying this, Sakura stared a Naruto, admiring how much he had changed from the time he was younger. If he had grown up like this, she wondered how much Sasuke had grown since the time they were together in the past. As she watched, a thought had come to mind, her left hand moving to his right elbow and to her elbow guard. "Wait, I got a idea."

Hearing this, Naruto had looked over to his teammate. "Wha..."

"Here..." Sakura said, shifting the elbow guard down to her forearm to show the fold of her elbow to show the kanji for '日月', which caused Naruto to blink.

"Mūn Basho?"

"Yep," Sakura nodded as she channeled chakra into the seal as the etchings glowed a neon, lava blue, her arm beginning to shake, feeling the seal beginning to dissipate as she added chakra. "Kibou placed this seal on both me and Kakashi, just in the case we need him." She said, this information making the boy blink.

Suddenly, a plume of smoke appeared in the middle of the group, which made everyone, minus Sakura, to step back.

"I swear to God, Ino, if you don't be-"

The smoke was soon cleared to reveal a dark skin boy with his arms out forward as if he was carrying something. His back was toward both Sakura and Naruto so that he was looking to a stupefied Temari and Shikamaru. "Um..." he let out as he looked around, noticing the pale blond girl wasn't around. "Did I place a seal on either of you?" He asked, a bit confused, lowering both his arms to see that Hinata was not there.

Simultaneously, Shikamaru and Temari lifted their hand and pointed behind him.

Kibou turned in a clockwise fashion and saw Sakura behind him, noticing the seal on her arn was slowly fading away. "So..." He looked up to the face of the girl who own the arm and saw it was Sakura. "You activated the seal...need me to place another?"

"No, I just-"

"You're Kibou?"

Kibou turned his head to the right, locking eyes with that one blond haired boy he had meant after his training session and this made him blink.

"That Jitsugetsu guy?" Naruto asked.

Sakura looked back and forth between them, her eyes landing on Naruto. "You've met?"

"Yeah, kinda." Naruto said as he looked over to Sakura. "I met him earlier at the entrance, but Pervy Sage chased him off."

"He didn't chase me off..." The boy grew a faint blush, at the memory of it. "I left willingly."

Sakura smiled, nodding to the two boy, but something else came to mind. "Wait, Kibou..." She called to him, grabbing his attention. "What were you doing with Ino before I summoned you?"

At her asking this, Kibou eyes trailed away from her in realization. "Uuuuuuuummmmm..."

**(Scene Change)**

"I swear I am going to kill him." Ino grumbled, thinking evil thoughts about the dark skin boy that left her to carry Hinata across the village.

**(Scene Change)**

Kibou looked back to Sakura. "Nothing."

**End**


	9. Goals

**The Route to Enlightenment**

**Start**

"So, they are finally beginning to make their move?" Kakashi asked, sitting in a Dango shop, across from Jiraiya. The two of them had met up on a roof, the author unexpectedly interrupting him as he read the new addition to Icha Icha, having to dave his excitement for another time. He already knew this conversation would be about between him and the Toad Sage, being what had been on their, the Hokage, and council's minds as of late.

"That's what it looks like." Jiraiya agreed with Kakashi, sliding a piece of Dango of a stick with his mouth, eating it as he closed his eyes. "They were bound to come out of hiding sooner or later, right?"

"You're right..." Kakashi eye narrowed at the thought. "The Akatsuki." He said as he remembered the look on Sasuke's face the first time he had met face to face with his older brother since those time. The first time he was introduced to the Akatsuki was the first time he had fought against Itachi Uchiha and was able to see what power he used to slaughter the entire Uchiha clan. "Myself, Kurenai, and Asuma had fought off against both Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, but it is true that Kisame's full power was hidden due to Itachi implying his brand of attack as a bit too rambunctious." Kakashi explained. "Those eyes..."

"We were still within the village when he and the other one arrived, but at that time, I was out in the town while Naruto was in the apartment." Jiraiya commented, looking to the Jonin across from him. "He separated the two of us by using a Genjutsu on an innocent person, though when I arrived, Sasuke was already being toyed with by Itachi."

Kakashi hummed, staring the man down. "Those eyes are not anything to be messed with." He said, his eye closing, remembering the slight display of power Itachi had showcased. "He is one of the only Uchiha to unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan, which makes him a lot more volatile to go against."

"And the other one, Kisame Hoshigaki, who is also a formidable shinobi, the Scourge of the Mist." Jiraiya spoke. "Each of these Akatsuki members seem to be S-rank in the bingo book, which means no normal will stand a chance at taking them on." He continued as he opened his eyes. "It was even known that Orochimaru was once apart of this organization."

Kakashi heard the man, this peaking his interest, though his facial expression never change...or what could seen by his eyes. "Orochimaru, huh?" He asked, though it was rhetorical. "So, why do you think they are finally poking their heads out the hole?"

Jiraiya put his elbow on the table and rested his cheek, letting out a soft groan in contemplation. "Well, their exact goal isn't quite known just yet, but what we do know that they are after the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed within Naruto, this is known." He explained to the Jonin.

Kakashi continued to look at the man.

"And be sure that I have let the other villages know about this, and I hope they were smart enough to up theid security."

*THUMP!*

There was a sound of something hitting the table, drawing the males' attention to the end of the table, spotting a black book that was sitting vertical. Their eyes followed to the top of the book, spotting a dark skin hand and followed further to see Kibou, to Kakashi, and the dark skin boy from the main entrance from earlier, to Jiraiya.

"So, I've read this book, among others, cover to cover, planting a image of some guys I may need to look out for." Kibou spoke. "...and I have a sneaky sense that this thing can't tell me a lot...so...what more can you tell me about this Itachi Uchiha that this book cannot dispense?" He asked, his free hand on his hip, looking directly to Kakashi. In his hand was a book all Jonin and Anbu alike knew about and it was called the Bingo Book.

"Hm...you're the boy from earlier, aren't you?"

Kibou turned his head over to the right, looking to the older, white haired man he had met earlier in that day, a sudden bad taste finding its way into his mouth, which made his tongue retract at seeing the man. His lower eyelid lifted in slight worry and his brows turned up.

Jiraiya eyed the boy, looking up to him in confusion. "What...?" He questioned, but suddenly got a reminder of what he had said to the boy just some time ago by a image of him telling the boy that his clan was dead...straight to his face. That could put any body in a bad mood.

Kakashi watched the two of them, his brow raising in curiosity, this being heightened with a silent hum. 'Did these two meet already?'

For another few seconds, both Jiraiya and Kibou eyed each other, the moment as awkward as it would be if a man you had never seen before had just began talking about you dead clan that had been mysteriously slaughtered off in the past. Jiraiya didn't know what to say, and that was really saying something because he usuallt knew how to remedy most situations.

Giving a eye closed smile, Kakashi cleared his throat, grabbing the undivided attention of both males. "Sorry to interrupt this...conversation..." And he used this as loosely as it could get. "But, Kibou, shouldn't you be meeting Naruto right about now?"

Kibou blinked, sighing with a short nod. "I've already met with Naruto." He said, Kakashi watching the boy as he walked around the table and sat beside his fellow Jonin.

"And?"

Kibou sat next to the man, looking down to the book in front of him. "It seems he does not like me too much." He said, though he never looked up from the cover of the book.

"That sounds about right." Kakashi spoke, looking over to the left and at the young Jonin. His eyes closed, letting out a soft sigh. "You must understand, Kibou, Naruto and Sakura held a strong bond with Sasuke...as friends and Team 7." He explained to him, the boy's eyes shifting over to the left just a bit. "As of late, you've gotten the approval of Sakura, but if you are going to be on this team, you must prove yourself to Naruto."

"Prove myself to Naruto?" Kibou questioned, his head lifting to look at Kakashi. He blinked several times, bewilderment obvious on his face. "That's absurd." He declared. "He's not Asa, so what would I need to prove to him?"

"So, you're still saying that, huh?" Kakashi hummed, his dull eyes staring straight into the red eyes of the stoic boy.

Jiraiya heard the name, humming from across the table as he looked to the boy. "Asa Kai?" He asked, eyeing the boy as both their eyes locked. "The Wind practitioner...? How do you know of her?"

"Well..." Kibou head lowered back down to the Bingo book, trailing his fingers along the tough corners. "She's been taking care of me since she found me a few month prior to today." He said, staring to his book as both men watched the boy. "Asa brought me up to what made me who I am right now...she made me stronger than what I was." His eyes raised and looked back at the man. "She's my light...and I'm her darkness, but she was able to extinguish my darkness, so I do everything in my power to show her how strong I am and that I can overcome anything that comes my way."

"Then you've already failed her." Jiraiya said with much bluntness, which caused the boy's eyes to glare dagger at him.

Kakashi took what Jiraiya said in, his expression never changing, but his eye did cut over to the Sannin.

"What did you say?" Kibou growled at the older man as his fingers clinched down on the upper corner of the book.

"You've failed her already." Jiraiya repeated, continuing to stare at the boy.

At him repeating this, Kibou began to push himself.

Jiraiya never made no attempt to guard himself, his eyes following the boy. His eyes slowly closed as he let out another exasperated sigh, studying the boy, figuring out bad mouthing him in the case of the Anbu Captain was a hot button for him. He could tell he was still a novice, though making the rank of Jonin, but the kid was still young and had a strong temperament problem. "Ugh, sit down, kid, and don't do something you'll regret." His eyes opened to look up at the boy.

Kibou never took the chance to sit, his eyes narrowed at the older man with his hands on the table.

"Or stand...either way, listen to what I have to say before you rush in and try to attack me." Jiraiya said. "It may be one of the most rash thing you will ever do."

Listening to the man, Kibou grumbled silently, but he nodded and sat back down in his seat, though just because he was compliant didn't change the glare he was sending the older man.

"Good." Jiraiya nodded and sent the boy a serious look. "Okay, Kibou, is it?" He asked and received a short nod from the boy. "Now, it is hard for me to believe that you would overcome anything Asa puts in front of you."

"What?'

"Just listen." Jiraiya stopped him before the boy could make a outburst. "Asa, she grew up in Konohagakure alongside Kakashi right here..." He said, nudging his head across the table and to man who eyes matched the dark skin boy, though Kakashi was smaller, while Kibou was larger.

'Wait, what?' Kibou declared in his thoughts, his brows raising as he looked over to the man, who simply gave a lazy nod.

"Both are prodigy in their own nature, both making it to Anbu at the same age." Jiraiya continued. "As you say, but the difference between you and them, they were able to overcome anything that got in their way."

"But I can."

"BUT that is what you say." Jiraiya countered. "You said that proving yourself to Naruto has no importance to you, am I right?"

"Yes."

"But proving yourself to Asa is what drives you?" Jiraiya asked.

"Of course."

"As a teacher to Naruto, I must say that he is one of the most hyperactive, headstrong, knuckleheaded ninja I have taught in my time." Jiraiya informed.

"...I...I can second that." Kakashi spoke with a nervous eye closed smile.

"Oh...?" Kibou let out as he turned his attention back to Jiraiya.

"And, much like you, Naruto has something to prove, but it's not just to one person..." The Legendary Sannin paused for a bit, smirking at Kibou. "He wants to show this entire Shinobi World who he is...he wants to surpass each Hokage, and I believe he can do just that."

Kibou gazed at the man, his eyes lowering a bit.

"And you...you want to prove yourself to Asa, but you have to get passed the next and probably the most unpredictable obstacles you will ever face, Naruto Uzumaki." Jiraiya said, chuckling to himself at the misfortune this boy would most definitely come in contact with while being around Naruto.

Letting his words run through his head, Kibou agreed with the man's words. He didn't know Naruto to well, but if he was like how Sakura and Kakashi described him as then he would have his hands full when dealing with the blond.

"But there is another you need to know." Kakashi said, grabbing the attention of both the males. "You have to remember like both you and Naruto, you two are the sole members of your clan, the two of you being prodigy in your own way...and, if you can...protect Naruto."

Kibou sighed, rolling his eyes. "Easier said than done."

**(Break)**

How long had they been waiting now!? How long would Kakashi have them wait for their freaking training! It had been at least thirty minute since both him and Sakura had arrived at the training in slight hopes that Kakashi would be on time for the first ever...but guess what...it was still the same, Kakashi not arriving on time for them to begin. This waiting prompted him to pace back and forth with his arms crossed, Sakura watching him as he grumbled to himself like a madman. He stopped and dragged his hand through his blond locks, his face showing obvious irritation. "What is taking the both of them so long!"

Sakura was leaned up against the fence, sighing as he said this. "Well...you know how Kakashi-sensei is..." She closed her eyes, shrugging her shoulder. "But I would've expected more from Kibou." She mumbled.

Naruto huffed at the sound of the name, plopping down next to the emerald eyed girl. "Guess he's not as good as you guys thought." He grumbled, crossing his arms, his eyes low just a bit at the thought of Sasuke's replacement. What was the need for him to replace Sasuke anyways? He would be bringing the boy back in no time, so they had no use of this boy.

"I know how you feel, Naruto." Sakura spoke as she leaned up against the fence, her head raising with her mind on Sasuke Uchiha. "I never mouthed it, but I wasn't too sure about Kibou taking Sasuke's spot..." She trailed off as she closed her eyes, Naruto never taking the chance to look at her. "If I can rephrase that, I didn't want him to take Sasuke's spot, because to us...this team is a lot more special than the name it was given, and putting someone other than Sasuke on this team wouldn't be...ethical."

As she spoke, Naruto eyes only continued to lower.

"But...Kibou had this thing about him...he had a goal...he had a drive that pushed him." Sakura smiled softly. "He reminded me of you when you weren't there...it made me comfortable to be around him."

This caused Naruto's head to raise, his eyes blinking as he looked up to the fair skinned. "Really?"

"Well, minus the fact that he's pretty much a genius." Her eyes trailed off to the left, but she used the term loosely for Kibou, because he was pretty much clueless when it came to girls and their feelings.

"Awe, Sakura." Naruto groaned, his head drooping.

"But, for now, I believe he belongs here and on Team 7." Sakura admitted, informing her teammate of her feelings toward Kibou. "Just in time for Sasuke to come back."

*POOF*

Above the two and on top of the fence was a plume of smoke, indicating the arrival of the two males. As the smoke began to cleared, it revealed Kakashi, finely balanced on the top of the fence in crouched position with Kibou standing up straight to his right, the boy with his right hand in his pocket and his left hand dragged through the left side of his hair.

"Sorry it took us so long," Kakashi apologized, sending the two a eye closed smile as the two below stepped away from the fence and turned to look up at the two of them. "But...we had somethings we needed to talk about."

"Yeah, right, Kakashi-sensei!" The two yelled, pointing a trembling finger at the man.

Kibou turned his head away from them, lowering his hand, but her looked to them out the corner of his eye. 'Why didn't they believe him?'

After the arrival of the two Jonin, Team 7 walked toward the centre of the training, both Naruto and Sakura reminiscing at the sight. The two of them held memories of this place, it holding a place dear to their hearts, it being the first place they had visited as Team 7...it was where they had began their training...with Sasuke.

Kibou looked around at the large area, the location all too familiar to him since he practically lived here since being promoted to Jonin. It hadn't even been four hours since his last visit to the training field and now he was back in the nick of time. He watched both Naruto and Sakura get lost in thought from his spot walking to the right of Kakashi, but the two of them stopped, turning to face the other two.

A smile was present on Naruto face as he eyed the three stumps he had been tied to after their first training session with Kakashi. It brought back memories from before...when times were better...when it was just him, Sakura, and Sasuke. "This brings back tons of memories." He said, his eyes lowering as his mind was flooded with memories, and ut seemed Sakura was going through the same, a sorrowful look plastered on her face.

"Oh, yeah..." Kakashi looked up from his pervy book, but turned gis head to the right just a bit to eye Kibou. "This was the training sight to their first lesson with me."

"Huh?" Kibou let out as he raised his head to Kakashi and then back down to gaze back to Sakura.

Her eyes lowered at the thought, the images of her last words with Sasuke before he left her. "It was our squad; Team 7..."

"Just the four of us...you...me...Sasuke...and Kakashi-sensei." Naruto added, his eyes lowered.

"That's right," Kakashi eyes seemed to have lowered a great significance than it usually was. "We had Sasuke back then." He said, causing the two in front of him to go back in time to the last time they had saw the raven haired individual. He gave Sasuke a choice: follow the path of revenge and avenge his clan or pick Konoha and stay where he was a asset...but he chose, so what good could anymore words do?

Kibou eyes were lowered. He wish he could understand the pain they went through; he really did. But he had not a bond like they had with Sasuke, so he couldn't understand. He had never met Sasuke and there was no way he could shine light on the situation at hand. If he spoke, he just knew it would make a mountain out of a molehill. His eyes then lifted, but widened suddenly to see both Sakura and Naruto in a drought, a muggy aura around him. "Hey, Kakashi..." He got the taller man's attention as he looked from his book and down to the boy. "Is that normal?"

Kakashi eyes trailed back to both Naruto and Sakura, deadpanning at the two. "Try not to bring up Sasuke up around them."

"Yeah...got it."

Naruto groaned, both his fist to the ground as he thought about Sasuke leaving. He had promised Sakura that he would bring him back that day, but he had failed her and let Sasuke go to Orochimaru. Maybe if he had been stronger then he would've been able to bring Sasuke back that day. Wallowing in his depression, he was able to hear the sound of bells jingling, and this caught his attention to the point where he turned his head and saw Kakashi holding a bell and Kibou holding the other.

"Okay, show us what you got now." Kakashi told them, a smirk behind his mask. "I hope you haven't given up on your precious Sasuke."

"Of course not/Not a chance." Naruto and Sakura began, both him and the girl pushing themselves up to their feet to glare dagger at both bell. He clinched his fist and cracked his knuckles. "I didn't go through all that training with Pervy Sage just to lose to Sasuke."

"Good." Kakashi spoke as he nodded down to Kibou as both of them went to tie the bell to their right hip. His eyes shifted back to the two and continued. "As the first time, the same rule apply to this time." He said. "By any means necessary, you have until sunrise tomorrow to get these bells from us...and if you don't remember-"

"If we aren't prepared to take you out..." Naruto interrupted the man, surprising him just as bit.

"Then we can expect not to get those bells." Sakura finished, glaring at the two.

"Hmph." Kakashi huffed in satisfaction, nodding to the two. "Remember your time slot: you got until sunrise tomorrow and be sure to show the two of us no mercy...treat us like you would treat a enemy."

As he said this, Naruto had began to lift his hands to the back of his head while the gloves in Sakura hand was shown as she grabbed a hold of one of them.

"Well, I guess it's about that time." Kakashi said as he clapped the book closed.

"Hm...guess I should get ready." Kibou said dully, dusting his hands off on his pants.

"If you're gonna be reading book this whole time, this should be easy." Naruto said as he tightened his headband around his head.

"Doubt it." Sakura disagreed, pulling her last glove down on her hand. "Being Kakashi-sensei...I bet he already read through the whole thing already."

Kakashi chuckled at the two and their words as he stuffed the book in his item pouch. "Not quite." He said. "The game has changed, so I'll save it for later." His head shifted over to Kibou and nodded again as the boy sent one back, his eyes closing. "The two of us may need to stay on guard." He reached up to his headband, gripping it as he began to lift it up.

Naruto noticed Kibou's action, watching the dark skin male.

Almost simultaneously, as Kakashi lifted his headband, Kibou's eyes were opening, both stopping as their eyes were revealed to show the three tomoe Sharingan in Kakashi right eye and a vertical black slit and a horizontal slit that went through the first in Kibou eyes with a ring circling around the blood red iris and going each slit. Another thing that changed about his eyes was the disappearance of the horizontal blue lines at the outer edges of his eyes, being replaced by a glowing, cyan blue blade like painting that fell down his cheek, connecting to the lower corner of his eyes, it being thin, about a inch wide that reached down to the level of his lips, both curving just a bit inwardly as it came to a point.

Sakura noticed this, seeing as his eyes were different from four months ago. She had rarely been around the boy since their time in Yuki no Kuni, because he practically lived in the training field after becoming a Jonin.

Naruto had a sweatdrop coming down the side of his head as he saw this, him refraining from collapsing from the look he was getting from his eyes. It was as if he was playing with his chakra network from just his gaze and this unnerved him. His eyes then widened as he felt the stiffness of his legs 'Wait...' He looked down to his legs. 'Genjutsu?' His eyes closed, relaxing himself as he attempted to break it, but unsuccessful. 'What's wrong...?'

"Don't show fear."

Naruto looked up to the boy, all eyes being cast to him.

Kibou placed his right hand on his hip as he closed his eyes. "Don't worry, it's just a paralysis Genjutsu." He said. "And there was no way you could have avoided being caught in this." Both his eyes opened. "Once I touched down on solid ground, Yin chakra reacted to the spiritual energy and was sent through it and attached to you specifically, Naruto." The boy explained, causing the boy to blink in confusion, which Kibou noticed. "Okay, imagine it being equivalent to the Nara clan's Kagemane no Jutsu, though, instead of shadows, I utilize the purest of Yin chakra and send it through the air and as soon as you showed fear, the chakra reacted to the darkness in your heart." He explained, watching the as overwhelming amount of red chakra flowing around the boy, this indicating the Yin chakra reacting to the atrocious amount of darkness within him. 'I can see it...the Nine Tails...'

"Whoa..." Naruto let out.

"So...we must hide the darkness in our hearts, huh?" Sakura asked herself, watching as Kibou, lifted his right hand and made a single hand seal, saying "release" to let Naruto out of the Genjutsu. She lifted her fist and clinched them, smirking. "Easy."

Naruto chuckled as he stomped his feet on the ground, grinning widely. "Now that I know this, there's no way I'll be caught again." He declared.

"Since you've seen this..." The design in Kibou eyes slowly faded away. "Let's see how you do with me at base."

Kakashi hummed, but nodded at the boy's choice, watching as both Sakura and Naruto smirk. They were ready. "I guess we should get this started then." Kakashi said.

Within the trees around the training field, four occupated a section of trees, watching the four that was out in the open. The first was Jiraiya, Pervy Sage himself sitting high in in a tree on one of the lower branches. Below was Shizune and Tsunade standing on the side if another tree with Asa, thd surrogate mother of Kibou, leaning up against the tree, watching the four.

Jiraiya eyed the dark skin boy from his spot in the trees, his eyes then shifting over to Naruto. He sighed mentally. 'This may be tough for the Kid.' He said to himself. Those eyes were a complete mystery to him, but he could see that they were strong...making who wielded them a formidable foe.

The retired Anbu Captain had a large smirk on her face, routing for Kibou.

Tsunade eyed the woman out the corner of her eye, humming in interest. "He can already separate his own Yin chakra?"

Asa nodded. "Sort of." She laughed sheepishly. "His chakra manipulation isn't to good, so he can only perform paralysis Genjutsu with this technique, but he is able to chakra from Yin, which he depicts as red, to Yang, which he tell me is blue."

As the two spoke, the atmosphere around the Jonin and test takers was beginning to thicken, both groups staring one another down, the calm breeze causing the grass to dance along with anything that wasn't strapped down. Naruto stared the dark skinned boy down, almost impressed at what he had showed him, but he would have to show him more if he wanted to be the right one that be taking Sasuke spot. He shifted his left hand to the back, spreading five shuriken in his hand. "C'mon! What are we waiting for?" He bellowed, tossing his hand forward and flinging all five shuriken at the boy.

Quickly, Kibou used his left hand and tapped the bottom of the holster holding his scrolls, launching a single out as he swiped it out of the air with his right hand. He spun the normal scroll around his fingers and gripped the bottom as he swung his arm horizontally to the left, hitting the first shuriken out of the way with the tip of the red wooden centre, being sure not to let the blades of the shuriken tear the paper.

Naruto glared at the boy. 'Shuriken won't work against him.' He spoke inwardly, watching as the boy deflecting the next three shuriken in the same fashion, but in different directions.

Just before the final shuriken could make to him and damage his body, Kibou flipped the scroll so that the bottom was pressed against his palm as he forced it forward and deflected the shuriken back to Naruto.

"Whoa!" Naruto shrieked as he leaned to the right and watched the shuriken fly pass his face. He turned his attention back to the assailant, but was shocked to see the boy already on him, lunging forward with a kunai in his right hand, the blade being in reverse grip. Luckily, he was able to make a cross hand seal in front of him as a clone popped into existence, pulling him out of the line of attack.

Kakashi hummed, seeing the growth in Naruto's abilities. 'He wasn't able to react fast enough, so he used a clone to react for him.' He thought, impressed.

"Good job, Naruto!" Sakura pumped her fist into the air.

Kibou used his right hand and slashed diagonally down to the left, but was unable to hit anything.

"Ha." Naruto laughed as he distanced himself from Kibou, leaping back and onto the water. "You gotta be faster than that if you want to hit me." He grinned.

As he began to spin in the direction of Naruto, Kibou tossed the kunai directly at the boy.

"Crap." Naruto let out as he slid a kunai down his sleeve and gripped it in his right, his eyes widened at the speed. In the instant where the blade should've pierced his heart, he was able to deflect it upward into the sky. "A bit faster..." He lower his head to look a Kibou. "But..." He trailed off as see that the red eye boy was gone. "Wha...?"

"Naruto! Above you!" Sakura exclaimed, pointing to the sky.

"Huh?" Naruto's head lifted, his eyes widening as he saw the dark skin boy performing a frontflip high enough that he was over the trees.

As he continued the flip, Kibou had taken note of where Naruto had deflected the kunai to utilizing his heel, timing it precisely, hitting the bottom end down and launched it back down to Naruto.

"He's fast." Naruto said, coming to a conclusion, deflecting the kunai down into water, being sure he wouldn't be able to use it again. His head lifted back up to the boy, but was unable to find him. "Whe-"

"Never take you eye off your opponent."

Naruto heard the voice in his ear, his head lowering to look out the corner of his eyes to see Kibou behind him, the cold steel of a wet kunai at his throat.

"Especially if I'm you opponent." Kibou warned, holding the kunai to his neck.

Naruto chuckled, a grin obvious on his face, his eyes shifting to the right. "Then you may want to do the same."

Kibou eyes shifted to look behind him to see a soaking wet clone of Naruto behind him with a blade to his back. 'That was good.' He said as images of the clone swimming under water appeared in his head. 'He hid that same clone underwater without me noticing.'

Back within the trees, the group looked to be impressed with Naruto's.

"He was able to sneak up on his clone...brilliant." Asa said, smiling at Naruto feat.

"That was impressive." Tsunade smirked.

"Hey, you two need to draw it back a bit." Kakashi called from dry land, nodding to the boy behind Naruto, receiving one from him. "I haven't even said 'go' yet."

Though he had said this, Naruto and his clone smirked.

"Okay...now let's do this the right way." Kakashi said, smiling at Naruto growth, Sakura getting herself ready. "Go." And with that, both Kakashi and Kibou vanished.

**End**

There it is, the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.


	10. Sub Chapter: Plots

Okay, I know this chapter may be a little short and a bit close to my previous chapter release, but I wanted to show what was happening to the Akatsuki during the exploits in Konoha.

So, without further ado...here you go

**The Route to Enlightenment**

**Sub-Chapter**

**Start**

In the most deepest regions of both Otogakure and Takigakure was a forestry land filled with bones of animals that looked larger than most would believe, all littered about, sprouting up from the ground to show that what ever it was had been there for some time.

"Now, with the eye of Koichi and the blood of the Jitsugetsu brat, things should play out."

Deep within a sole cave in this barren land, a man with a orange mask hiding his face that had a spiral indentation that focused on a single hole at his right eye. He wore a black cloak that hid his hands and his legs, excluding his sandel feet. All around the cloak was red clouds embroidered into the clothing, it having white outlining. Through the hole in mask, the man looked toward a completely white being in front of him with short green hair and a single yellow left eye, the other being blood red.

From behind the mask, the man smirked at the outcome of implanting the eye of Koichi Jitsugetsu, a man who was known to be a legendary teammate of Minato Namikaze, into something he would be using in the future. "Was it a success; are you capable of properly using Nejiton, Zetsu?" The man asked, his voice being deep.

"Here, let me check." The white being that haf been dubbed as Zetsu had lifted both his hands with his palms upward. He began to focus the Yang chakra from his right eye as a bit size portal, very much like Kibou's, though space-like center had a lack of stars ans was golden. Soon after the portal was created, it was converted to down into a shuriken of the same appearance, then a kunai, taking it a bit further as a Fūma shuriken was formed, and lastly, a large Nodachi blade. "I think I'm capable of performing his ninjutsu."

The Masked man hummed, a look of satisfactory on his face. "It's not perfect, but it's good enough." He said. "But what of the other jutsu?" He asked, but received a shake of the thing's head. "It was said that Koichi was able to utilize Yang chakra at it's pure, his mastery of it being close to the Rikudo Sennin." He paused a bit. "Though satisfactory, these eyes tell us that the Jitsugetsu brat is foretold to have a the ability to tap into both Yin and Yang...so...we must implant his left into before our plans begin."

"The Heiwagan will be mine's. "

**End**

I hope this little thing could give you all a bit if insight to what was happening during the start of Naruto and Sakura training.


	11. Fighting Dreamers

Hello y'all! Here is the next chapter of this little story I have conjured up with this little mind of mine. I have brought Tenten back in this chapter and I know how much Naruto fans love 'em some Tenten...well...I've noticed people don't like Tenten or just the way she has been portrayed in the Naruto Series. *shrug* I don't know...I like her just fine and I just don't think she is explored enough, ya know, so that is another reason I began to write this.

Oh, and to answer something, I will explain each component of a ability Kibou comes in contact with.

And if anyone wants to see how Kibou looks, I had a friend draw him and it came out pretty much how I imagined him. Type in art/Kibou-Jitsugetsu-Sketching-577610165 or art/New-Kibou-Jitsugetsu-578073809

Without further ado...

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that pertain to Naruto in any way...only Kibou and Asa. The rights of Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**The Route to Enlightenment**

**Start**

It had been some time since the disappearance of both Kakashi and Kibou. The group in the forest that consisted of the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade Senju, the legendary, pervy Toad Sennin, Jiraiya, the Hokage assistant herself, Shizune, and the retired Anbu Captain, Asa Kai. The group of four was looking forward and through the trees to the training field, watching Naruto and Sakura speak to one another about how they would combat both Kakashi and Kibou, though it seemed Sakura was doing more of the thinking than Naruto. That was probably for the best due to the blond not being the brightest bulb in the case. With this being one hundred percent true, the four of the shinobi showed obvious acknowledgment at Naruto's display of growth in the pass two and a half years.

His timing with the Kage Bushin no Jutsu turned out to be good enough to get the drop on a Jonin level shinobi. No matter if it turned out to be a trick in the end, it was surely impressive, to say the least. If he was able to do this, the group could see he still had some hidden potential within him, that would be tapped into in the near future. It was no doubt if he continued down the road he was already heading down would produce some fruitful results.

Above in his tree, Jiraiya snickered to himself, going back through his memories to see how Naruto had got the slip on that Jitsugetsu kid. Guess he over trained Naruto for this moment if he could get a drop on a Jonin.

Asa her this, the snickering making her brow twitch in irritation. In actuality, she could handle the short snicker, but fron who it came from had aggravated her to limits beyond reach. Her eyes shifted up to the right, glaring at the man in the tree like a monkey.

"The growth in Naruto." Shizune acknowledged, her eyes shifting to the left to gauge Tsunade's reaction to his growth.

"Yes, I know." Tsunade smiled, her eyes focusing on Naruto, a image of Nawaki finding it's way to the front of her mind, the blond haired boy reminding her of her younger brother. It was both their dream to become Hokage...and hopefully...Naruto could live out her brother's dream. "He's changed from that child three years ago."

Shizune let a smile cross her face, her eyes closing. "Yeah, who would've thought it, too?" She asked. "When he returned, I had in mind that he would come back in that bright orange jumpsuit, spouting 'believe it', but he's grown up."

"He's probably still the same." Tsunade deadpanned, her arms crossing under her chest as her breast sat on her forearms. "Just give him time..." She paused, lifting her hand to point her thumb to the man in the tree. "Remember, he spent some time with him."

"Huh...?" Jiraiya brow raised his brow, shifting a bit to look down at his long time friend. "What's that suppose to mean?" He asked. "I'm a grown man..." He crossed his arms and huffed. "Bet he was happy to be out there with me."

Asa looked to the ground and out the corner of her eyes, the mere continuation of his voice being the bane of her existence. "More like a grown child." She mumbled, her eyes shutting.

"Oh," Jiraiya perked up a bit to look down to the younger, brown haired woman. "Did I finally hear your voice, my darling?"

Asa shuddered, her shoulder lifting at Jiraiya using this name for her. "Eww...how dare you call me that?" She asked, removing herself from the tree to hide on the other side, her eyes squeezing closed with her brows knitted and her hands trembling. "I told you before, pervert, not to address me as such."

"Yeah...I do remember something like this..." Jiraiya stood up on the branch and grinned to the tree the retired Anbu Captain was hiding behind. "But you're too cute...you deserve a nickname by the Legendary Toad Sennin."

Asa shudder more at him calling her cute. "Eww." She shifted a bit, feeling the man's gaze through the trunk of the tree. "Will you please stop talking to me!"

"Oh, you're so cute when you are like this." Jiraiya said as he began to go into his pose. "I have decided...my next book will be dedicated to you." He said, slamming his foot down.

"If you do, I will burn each copy." Asa mumbled, but never removed herself from behind the tree.

In the middle of the transaction, Tsunade sighed and pressed her fingers to her forehead. Together...they both still acted the same.

"Well..." Shizune let out a closed eyes sheepish smile, chuckling a bit. "It seems like they haven't changed."

Tsunade dragged her hand down her face leaving the appearance of bags under her eyes. "Yeah...I can see that." She groaned, Shizune words sticking out like a sore thumb.

*Rustle*

Tsunade heard the cracking of branches behind her, causing her head to shift to the right and look over her shoulder as Shizune turned fully in question, wondering who could this be at the moment.

"What is up with all the bushes?"

At hearing words, followed by a groan, a pale hand was placed on the trunk of the tree Jiraiya was on, Tenten pushing her way through the bushes, swatting leaves from her head with her eyes closed.

Tsunade loosened up as she saw her, Shizune simply smiling at her. "Tenten, what are you doing here?" She asked.

Tenten walked passed and stood next to to Shizune, her eyes closed, relying on her senses to find her way next to the woman. She brushed her hands across her face to wipe the debris off her face. "Oh..." Her right eye fluttered opened, her right eye shifting around just a bit, clearing her view, which prompted her to open the left one, both Tsunade and Shizune watching her. "Um...I wanted to..." She trailed off, her eyes sliding away, a small blush on both her cheeks. "I heard Naruto was back and I just had to see how different he has become." Her looked forward, spotting Naruto, noticing he was a lot taller than before, as the boy seemed to speak with Sakura. Letting her eyes narrowed to take up the scene in front of her, unable to spot who she was searching for.

Both Tsunade and Shizune looking to the girl, noticing the most obvious lie, the Hokage deadpanning at the girl while her assistant just let an eye closed sheepish chuckle. "Tenten," She grabbed the brown haired girl's as the two eyed one another. "Do you know why we are here?"

"Yeah..." Tenten nodded her head, blinking just a bit. "We're here to watch Naruto and Sakura test their abilities..." Her eyes drifted. 'And see how much Ki-chan has grown since we was last together.' It was true that since the Chunin Exams, she was unable to see Kibou too much with her being bombarded with a stack of missions with her team, which cut her quality time down with the raven haired boy down. The only time she was really able to spend moments with him was when Team Kakashi would cross her Team's path during their comings and goings of the villages. Whenever she would have some time with him on both their off days, he would always spend the day watching him meditate in the Training Field.

Tsunade hummed and turned fully to the girl, placing her hand on her hip, staring straight to the girl, taking on a more serious. "Now that I know how you look when you're lying, how about you tell me why you are really here." She said, crossing her arms.

Did she actually see through her that easily? Was that lie that obvious to Tsunade that it didn't take her no more than three seconds to realize it? If this was true, then she would have to work out some kinks if she wanted to keep her crush on Kibou hidden. Scratching her head as she began to speak, her eyes shifted once again. "If-"

"Hi, Tenten!"

Being startled by the sudden call of her name, Tenten head shifted around in order to find whoever was attempting to attract her attention, but was unable to spot the individual. By the tone of the voice, she identified it as the voice of a female, though she hadn't even the slightest idea of who it could be.

"It's me!"

Tenten eyes leaned toward the position of Tsunade, the woman sighing with her head hung, spotting a hand waving from behind a tree, the rest of the body being hid. She blinked a single time, her confusion at it's peak.

"Asa."

"Oh!" Tenten mouth was in a full O shape at the clarification on who it was behind the tree. Her eyes blinked more at the situation, her brow raising as she asked Tsunade "Why...is she behind a tree" in a whisper.

Tsunade lifted her head, her eyes lowered. "Let's skip it." She said and returned to normal, looking directly at Tenten. "But what are you really out here for? And how did you find out about this?"

"Well," Tenten lifted a finger. "Shikamaru and Temari told me about it." She answered, her hand lowering as a blush faded onto both her cheeks. "And the reason why I can..." Swallowing a lump in her throat, her brow furrowed, not afraid to say why she was in the vicinity. "Is because-"

"She has a crush on Kibou." Asa cut in, leaning against the tree with her arms crossed over her chest.

Tenten looked passed Tsunade and to the tree Asa was hiding behind, her eyes wide at the fact the woman closest to Kibou had already knew about her feelings toward the Dojutsu wielder. "Uh...I..." She mouthed out, stumbling on her words as a larger blush had spread across her cheeks to both sides.

"That's interesting." Shizune whispered to herself, both her eyes closed.

Tsunade eyes had veen cut over to the left to look over her shoulder and to her trusted ex-Anbu Captain. Both her brows were furrowed just a bit as her eyes slowly made their way back to focus on Tenten, a hint if distaste finding it's way in her mouth. She hadn't a clue where it came from, but it made of remember something from her past, remember Shizune's uncle and how much it had hurt when he left. "Why?" She asked, staring directly to the younger girl.

"Wha...why...?" Tenten was at a lost for words. "Why...why ask that, Tsunade-sama?"

"It's simple: why are you infatuated with Kibou Jitsugetsu?" Tsunade pursued, her eyes narrowing. "I understand that he is an attractive one, but...why?"

Shizune's eyes were on Tsunade as her mentor asked this, understanding why she did this.

Jiraiya was sitting back in his previous position his arms crossed over his chest as he eyed Tsunade.

Also in her previous stance, Asa leaned against the tree, her eyes lowered, being reminded of what happened...or the little information Jiraiya gave to her.

Tenten opened her mouth in order to speak, but she couldn't find the words to tell the woman she had aspired to be like. What did she want to hear...better yet...what did SHE want to hear? When it came to it, what made her begin to like Ki-chan? What her want to be with him? The only reason she had noticed him that day was because of his looks, so what did that say about her? Was she really that shallow?

"What is it about him that you find yourself drawn to?"Tsunade pushed, her tone rough as the memories of Dan resurfaced and made her fear for the girl. It wasn't that she completely denounced the fact teenagers usually had emotion toward other individuals...she just didn't want to see someone as young as her get hurt.

Tenten eyes were low as she thought on her question, the answer being a lot further than she would actually want it. The blush that had been plastered to her face was gone, the moment being killed by her question and her current loss for words.

"Tenten." Tsunade spoke, the girls attention falling to the ground. "I am not saying that you liking Kibou is wrong..."

"But it was me being simplistic." Her saying this caused Tsunade's mind to go blank, the she would say being lost to her. "Me liking Ki-chan...it was all fabricated."

Her saying this caused Tsunade and Shizune to blink, the girl grabbing both of their attention, a certain aspect in her words peaking their interests.

"Tenten..." Tsunade spoke, though the girl never looked up to her. She shook her head, her eyes locking onto Tenten intently. "Your feelings for Kibou are real." She said, which caused Tenten to blink, her eyes clearing up a bit. "You may not understand, but you calling Kibou 'Ki-chan' is all the proof I need to show me you really have genuine feelings for the boy."

Tenten head lifted, her eyes falling onto the woman. "How do you know that, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade lifted her right hand and pointed directly to Tenten chest. "Because it's you." She said, Tenten eyes widening. "You may not notice it, but you and the Jitsugetsu are closer than you could actually realize." She said and lowered her hand. "It may not be clear to you yet, but if you want to be with him, then spend some time with him, learn what he is actually about and maybe...just maybe...you will figure out why you were drawn to him."

Digesting her words, Tenten stared at the woman, her mind going over what the woman had told her. Getting to know Kibou would be like pulling teeth, knowing he wouldn't be too excited to pour his heart out to her, though it was a time where he willingly told her about a few aspects to his abilities. Now that she actually thought about it, what he had told her was only about his abilities and not about him. It was as if he had purposely skipped that.

Showing a small smile, she nodded.

"And let me remind you of something." Tsunade said, the smile on Tenten face being wiped away. "You have to remember, he is a shinobi...we all are and tomorrow, for us, is never promised, so your time may be running short."

**(Break)**

The sun was beginning to set, revealing a pleasant orange color to the Training Field and its occupants. It had been some time since the disappearance of both Jonin, leaving both the test takers to strategize their next approach to the situation at hand. Sakura had relayed the few things she had learned about Kibou through her time of knowing him, but Naruto just had a hard time at understanding this is information she was giving to him. He could understand that the boy was strong, but when trying to explain how the Heiwagan worked from her slight knowledge she had of it. She had instantly grown exhuasted from trying to elaborate the aspects of the eye.

Guess Naruto would have to get a up and close look at what it could do, though she would rather not it be this way.

The two eyes was shifting around in order to locate both Jonin who suddenly seemed to have a fondness for hide-n-seek.

Tsunade and the group around watched the two attempt to locate the missing-nin, though they had come up short as of late. Leaning against the tree, the busty woman looked on with keen eyes, wondering what her apprentice may do. 'C'mon, Sakura, what will you do?' She spoke inwardly.

'Okay,' Sakura eyes shifted to the right, analysing the area. 'Nothing there.' Her eyes shifted upward and to the sky, but was unable to spot the two. 'Nope.' She shook her head as his eyes lowered down to the left, still coming up empty handed. 'What about...' Her words trailed off as she did a full 180° to see if they could be in the vicinity, but, like the rest, she couldn't find.

With this new, one would frown, but no...a smirked appeared on her face as she clinched right fist, her eyes drifting down to the ground. 'Great hiding spot, you two!' Her hand was then cocked upward as she gave a war cry and launched it down to impact the ground, but just as her hand began to connect, a shinobi sandal kicked her hand. In that split second before the impact of the foot could make her spin, she could see the dark skin of the foot which she guessed belonged to Kibou. The only thing that ran through her head was 'Where did he come from' this bewildering her to an unknown extent. The kick had caused her hand to lift back up and made her spin, but she gained control of her body as she brought around the back of her right fist, though she never anticipated Kibou would duck under it, her catching this out the peripheral of her right eye, her teeth gritting.

Crouching with his left hand to the ground, both his eyes were closed, timing it correctly to the point where her hand was directly over his head. Due to the obvious speed he had previously moved in, his hair was lifted in the image of it defying gravity.

"There he is!" Naruto shouted, clinching his both his fist, but paused, noticing Kakashi was yet to be. Well, it wasn't his job to be looking out for him. Actually it was, but this boy had a bell and maybe he could help Sakura get this one and they could tag team Kakashi. Performing his signature cross hand seal in front of his face, a smirk on his face. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Timing it correctly, Kibou eyes opened, lifting his right hand, letting his hand dangle forward, sprouting up quickly to let the back of his wrist guide Sakura hand upward.

'Did he just...' Sakura trampled through her thoughts in confusion.

Before he could proceed with a counter strike, Kibou was pushed to take a short leap back just as a fist belonging to the blond individual almost connected with his jaw. Landing about a foot away, he was able to let his eyes shift around the vicinity with the little time he had, watching a gang if Naruto clones began to rush to him, the clones ranging for thirty to almost forty in his eyes. 'He has me beaten by a lot.' He thought, realizing the sheer amount of clone Naruto could make had him outclassed. He wasn't sure how many clones were there due to him being unable to sense the chakra signatures of Kage Bushin. In the time slot between the clones reaching him, he got into a open palmed stance.

Straightening herself after Kibou had successfully redirected her attack, Sakura eyed Kibou in silent thought. 'That stance...' She whispered in her thoughts, watching as Kibou moved his right hand to his left bicep, letting it float just about three inches away, his fingers curving just a bit. His other hand was lifted so the his hand was shifted to the right just a bit, his elbow cranked with his pinky, ring, and middle finger curled a bit, each one from the pinky being curled less. 'What is that?'

Back, hidden in the trees, the group of Nin eyes traveled through the clone, spotting Kibou and this new and strange fighting stance. This confused them, knowing full well that they had not seen a stance as this, though the only one that didn't have a lot of confusion was Asa, the woman smirking.

'So, let's see how good you two do against Kibou's Meianken.' Asa grinned.

'Kakashi...' Kibou closed his eyes, feeling the impending danger. He took in a deep breath, his eyes snapping open, the sounds of the shouting clones telling him how close they were. 'You owe me for this one.' With one swift motion, he quickly took a step to the left as he slid his right foot along with him, his guards staying, dodging a punch from the previous clone that attempted to punch him, the fist gently brushing the long bang at the right side of his head. His head lifted as a clone was seen falling down to him with it's right fist cocked and when launched it to him, he simply lifted his left hand and caught fist, guiding the clone down to the ground by it's wrist as it dispersed from rolling.

Another charged at his back.

In an instant, Kibou leaped backwards and performed a back flip over the clone, but once he was over it, he had went into his kunai pouch and slung one of the small daggers down as it sliced through its head, popping the clone like a balloon.

Landing back on the ground, the boy slid backward a bit, his body going down on one knee, but he was quick to retrieve the kunai, holding it in his right hand.

"Got 'em!'

Kibou ears perked at hearing this.

Seeing his chance, the Naruto used his left knee to hit the boy directly in the nose, this making him smirk as he saw the bell on his hip.

"Focus."

The clone heard from behind him, noticing the boy had vanished, this causing his eyes to widen.

Behind him, wasting no time, Kibou placed a well balanced side kick in the back of the clone knee, though he was able to reduced every ounce of power in tge strike, leaving just enough to cause the clone to tip backwards due to it already standing on one leg. Ultimately, it was the ground that caused it to disperse.

On the left and right of the boy, at least three clones on each side, they charged Kibou, all shouting.

Kibou eyes shifted left and right, admiring the tenacity of the boy. Though he still had not the best chakra control, he could tell Naruto was in the same boat as him and spent a lot of chakra in performing this technique. Maybe through time, maybe Sakura, Tenten, or Hinata could train him in mastering his own chakra reserves since it seemed as If they were pretty good in it. He would've added Ino, but he reallt disliked the girl. Yes, she was beautiful, but as long as she could talk, there was no way he would willingly speak with her. Mentally shrugging, he could see himself with her if she changed EVERYTHING about her.

Returning to the real world, the threat approaching him provoking him to flash through a set of hand seals: Horse, Dog, Boar and, lastly, Monkey. "Raiton." He whispered, both his palms horizontally together. "Ten raito tanken(Heavenly Light Dagger)." As he said this, he whipped his right hand to the right and his left hand to the left, each inch showing a lightning trail.

"Wha...?" Before each clone could realize it, from their chest up, they had been disconnected from the rest of their body, this causing them to poof away.

Lowering his arms as he let out a soft breath, the lightning fading from his hands, but his relaxation was cut short once he felt a chakra signature approaching his back.

Sliding on the ground and behind Kibou with his right leg forward, Naruto smirked, about trip the boy. "Never take your eyes off me!" He cheered, repeating Kibou's words from before.

Kibou looked over his shoulder to the sliding boy, his stoic stare never changing as he took a small leap off the ground. 'That must be the real one.' His knees bent so that he could lift his legs so that Naruto wouldn't touch him.

As he slid under the boy, Naruto watched him, his smirk widening.

Looking down as their eyes met, Kibou brow raised in slight confusion.

Lifting up to his feet, Naruto darted to a separate clone of himself, his left arm stretched forward as he took the hand and swung the clone around. "Try to dodge this one!" He said and tossed the clone directly to Kibou, it's body soaring through the air like a bullet.

"I'll...try..." Kibou said, not sure if this was some kind of trick, but it didn't stop him from steadying himself into his previous stance. Once the flying clone closed the space, he took a small leap into the air once again, but this time he went a bit higher and flipped his body upside down and vertical as he pressed his right hand on the head of the clone and tipped it's head downward so that it crashed into the ground and popped.

"Transform."

Transforming into a oversized shuriken, not a Fūma Shuriken, a clone leaped to Naruto's right side, as the sun blond boy twisted to the right and gripped the ring of the shuriken with his right hand as he flung it at the airborne Kibou.

The shuriken spun through the air and proceeded onward to Kibou, aiming at the boy's arm.

Though upside down with his back to Naruto, Kibou lifted his left hand up to his face and performed the widely known one hand seal, both his eyes closed. With only using one hand, he would have to drop more chakra in this jutsu than he would already unknowingly do. "Doton." Suddenly, a slot of earth, that had the width about as long as the training field itself and it being two foot in thickness, sprouted up and to his right hand, lifting him about ten more feet into the sky, the shuriken bouncing off the hardened earth. Easily, his fingers of both his hands dug into it as he finished the flip, taking the humongous slot of earth with him as he held it over his head, it shadowing the training field.

Eyes widening, Naruto couldn't help but have a look of utter shock. His hands seals were too fast, with the fact that he had speed over them and he had better agility than both Sakura and him combined.

"Tairiku tokimeki(Continental Crush)!" Kibou yelled as he began to lower his arms to slam it on him and all of the clones.

"Oh, man." Naruto mumbled, the large block of earth beginning to make everything dark. Grinning at the boy's display of power, he nodded as he lifted his hands and made the cross hand seal, in need of a lot more clones than he already had. "Tajū Ka-"

"I got this one, Naruto."

Before Naruto could finish and to his surprise, Sakura had leaped in front of him. "Sakura?" He let out, blinking.

The pink haired Kunoichi brows were furrowed as she cracked her knuckles, watching as the large block of earth proceeded down on them. Settling into a strong stance, she began gathering chakra into her fist. Augmenting her legs with chakra, she leaped off the ground and up to the center of the block, her hair swaying randomly with her left fist out and her right fist cocked. "CHAAAAA!"

Naruto arms lowered as he watched his teammate soar upward. This completely had him bewildered, unable to remember if she could do this before.

Launching her fist upward, it connected with the center of the block and stopped it from falling, it beginning to crack all over.

Watching the block crack, Kibou nodded, expecting no less from his teammate. He released the blocked, pulling two chucks of earth from it as he leaped on top of them, proceeding to the ground.

Using a bit more of her strength, Sakura sent herself through the block, scattering chunks of earth around the training field.

Deadpanning as he watched this, Naruto swallowed a knot in his throat in fear. 'Oh, Kami...she can kill me.' He spoke inwardly, flinching over to the left as a chuck of earth slammed down. 'Definitely...'

Knowing she had little time for what she planned, Sakura landed on two of the scattered chunks of earth that was falling from the sky as she then set her eyes on Kibou and the bells. Quickly, she found a route in the falling scattered chunks of earth and leaped from one to another, heading straight toward the Jonin. "Get ready, Kibou-sensei."

"I'm ready." Kibou acknowledged the name she had caused him, but he couldn't lose his composer. He watched, his hands raising as he then scattered through four more hand seals: Rabbit, Tiger, Ox, and, lastly, Snake. "Doton!" He exclaimed as the chunks of earth that were scattered around from Sakura's punch began to gather around him, his hand raising over his head with his palm to the sky. "Chikyū no sōsa(Earth Manipulation)!"

Grinning, Sakura clinched her fist as she proceeded to him, leaping from chunk to chunk, but the grin was wiped from her face as the chunk of earth her left foot had settled on had been stripped from under her foot. This cuased her to gasp, gravity getting the best of her as she began to plummet.

"Ah!" Naruto gasped as he watched this. "Sakura!" He yelled and made the cross hand seal in front of his face. "Tajū Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" At this, a large gathering of clones came into existence.

The last two chunks of earth that was left was the two under his feet, the two gathering with the rest over his head. With the two chunks preventing him from defying gravity, he began to plummet after Sakura.

Sakura cleared her throat as she shifted her weight and flipped her body to over, but was shocked to see a sphere of earth that was five times her size. In that instant, she lifted both her hand stopped it from colliding with her, but it also caused her to proceed to the ground in a quicker pace.

Humming to himself as he flew down to her and the chunk of earth, Kibou had his body straightened with both his hands encased in lightning. If this test had to come to how much you enjoyed facing off with different shinobi, he would have to give it an A+, because, frankly, he was enjoying himself, and he could admit this...and he knew he could use some of this.

"Pay attention!"

Kibou blink as he heard the yell, this knocking him back into the real world. Once he could properly see, his eyes widened as the chunk of earth had exploded, sending rocks everywhere, it clearing a way, Sakura leaping from each chunk of earth, finding the last one and shot up to him.

Sakura smirked, her right fist clinched. 'There's no way he can dodge this one!' She grinned.

Kibou knew this too. He was unable to dodge out of the way, the two of them being at least two seconds away from one another.

"Take this!" Sakura clinched her fist even tighter, sending it directly to his left jaw. She grinned as she looked in both his eyes, his right closing slowly as the pupil in his left eye had suddenly elongated into a slit, another horizontal slit sprouting from the sides. Her eyes widened, the sound of her heart beating in her ears, her mind becoming hypnotized as the design in his eyes rotated in a clockwise fashion, leading around a circular ring in the iris with the top end of the slit until it connected all around.

*CAW!*

Sakura eyes widened at the last second, unable able to maneuver out of the way as a humongous black feathered falcon with red flaming feathers around it's eyes, the bird opening it's beak to swallow her whole. Before she was eating by the bird, she noticed the eyes of the falcon, it matching Kibou Heiwagan. 'Genjutsu.'

Sighing, Kibou used a chunk of earth to guide him back to the ground, his hands behind his back as his right eyes cracked open, his left eye losing the design. As the rock got a few feet from the ground, he leaped from it, but before he could touch the ground-

"CHAAAAAAA!"

Sensing a large chakra building over him and the familiar war cry resonating in his ears, his head lifted to the sky and saw Sakura falling down to him with both her hands over her head, her finger intertwined with one another in a praying fashion. Though his facial expression never was seen to have changed, he was shocked. 'So, she can break Genjutsu, huh?' He spoke to himself, wondering if a higher jutsu would've been enough to put her away.

"Now I got you!" Sakura yelled.

Once again, he had to agree with her. Being airborne was her only way of actually making physical contact with him, but he was yet to be finish. Clapping both his hands together, he finished his fall to the ground faster than Sakura could as he whispered "Release" just in time to leap back.

In that very instant he had decided to get away from that area, Sakura had slammed down into the earth, causing a quake, lifting the ground as it cracked and separated. This had caused a explosion, destroying two-thirds of the training field, dust rising.

"Whoa!" Kibou let out, losing his balance as the chunk of earth had separated from the rest as it began to crumble. Now that he realized what that attack would've have done, he was pretty glad that he was able to get out the line of fire just before Sakura could collide.

"Oh, man!" A few feet behind Kibou, Naruto was also losing his balance, his leg wobbling as all his clones began to disperse, all shouting in obvious shock of Sakura's power.

In his trees, Jiraiya deadpanned as he saw Sakura and the strength she had display. 'Kami...' He sighed with his thoughts. '...I honestly feel bad for Naruto and Kibou.'

As she watched, standing next to Shizune and Tsunade, Tenten's eyes were wide, her reaction to Sakura power being one of slight envy. "Did she...?" She trailed off, her mind going haywire.

Tsunade only smirked, her apprentice being something she was surely proud of.

Asa leaned against the tree her master leaned on, her arms crossed as she watched Sakura. This was surprising to her. She had also been trained by Tsunade, but she was unable to cause this much devastation, her choice of fighting being swift like wind. Her eyes shifted to the right. "That was surprising..."

"Yes...I know." Tsunade only continued to smirk.

'Sakura may be scarier than Baachan...' Naruto thought, sweat dripping down his face, attempting to gain his own balance, but he blinked as something caught his attention. Looking forward and toward that Kibou guy, as if in slo-mo, he saw the bell come loose from his hip. This caused him to gain a mischievous grin, leaping forward with both his arm outstretched in order to reach for the bell.

During his chance attempting to balance himself, Kibou could sense Sakura within the dust, her chakra within her fist reading loud and clear. Due to him having his senses on full blast, her felt the chakra approaching his back, twisting his head to the right to look over his shoulder and saw the bell with Naruto's hands almost closing around it.

'This was too easy.' The grin on Naruto's face had only widened as the bell was just in his grasp, but a gasped escaped his lips, watching Kibou use his right hand and slapped it, causing it to bounce of his forehead and fly up. This had caused him to grimace with his eyes squeeze closed.

In the blink of an eye, Kibou had leaped up and performed a back flip over Naruto. He used his upside down body and his left foot, kicking the bell with the toe of his sandal that had enough force to spike it to another section of the lifted and separated earth.

Naruto eyes had lifted as Kibou soared over him, both their eyes meeting for that very second, both understanding what was happening: it was a race for the bell.

Before Kibou could land on the shattered ground, Naruto spun around and keaoed in the direction of the bouncing bell, zigzagging from each section of earth to the next. He pursue the bell like it was his job and once he landed on the section of earth just behind it, he cupped his hand and lowered. His eyes then widened as Kibou landed on a chunk just two blocks ahead of him, the bell bouncing in his direction.

Predicting where the bell would land, Kibou lifted his right hand, the palm facing Naruto as the boy had stopped his advances. But his brow raised in confusion as he saw the smirk on Naruto's face. "Wha-" Before he could properly begin, he saw a blotch Orange out the peripheral of his left eyes. His eyes shifted and saw a clone, but instead of grabbing the bell, it slapped it back in the direction of Naruto. Maybe it knew what was about to happen and it grabbing it would only land the bell back in his hands.

Letting a large grin grace his features, Naruto reached out for the bell, but he retracted it as a column of shot up, popping the clone and sending the bell up with it. Naruto groaned as he saw this, the column blocking his view of the red eyed boy, but he already knew the two of them were thinking the same.

Nodding to themselves, both Naruto and Kibou balanced the chakra in their feet and charged up the column of earth, both gritting their teeth.

Placing his left hand on the ledge of the column, Naruto pulled his head up over it just to see Kibou over the column, diagonally upside down with his right hand the ledge, kicking the bell higher over the training field with his left foot. "Crap." He mumbled, using the ledge to give him a boost, running up the rest of the wall, leaping off the ledge and to the sole of Kibou sandal as he back flipped off of it with both his hands out to the bell, his view upside down. "Gotcha now!" As he closed in on grabbing the bell, something hit his chest, causing his eyes to trail down to see a pair of dark skin feet on him. His eyes trailed up to see that it was Kibou, the boy shaking his head.

"Not yet, Naruto." Kibou said, wagging finger as he lifted his left leg and slammed it back down on his chest, at the same front flipping forward and off him.

The stomp caused Naruto to let out a deep gasp as his eyes widened and was sent soaring down to the ground, hitting the scatter sections of earth, letting out a short scream as he impacted.

Landing on a cracked portion of the destroyed ground, his back to the falling bell, Kibou leaned to the left, Sakura's right fist shooting passed his face, which caused his hair to lift. Quickly shifting his body to turn in a clockwise fashion, he lifted his left leg and sent around a high kick.

Spinning around to attack what she thought was Kibou's back, Sakura was greeted with the sight of a leg about to connect with the right side of her head. In her haste, she was able to lift her right arm to guard her head as the calf connected.

Using his right leg, Kibou to a small hop, twisting his body as he dropped his right leg on her to add on to the weight.

Sakura grunted, tucking down just a bit, her eyes squeezed closed.

Maneuvering skillfully, Kibou was able to launch him off her arm to grab the bell, but he gasped as he felt a hand around his left ankle. His eyes trailed down a saw Sakura grinning as she looked up to him.

Tightening her grip around his ankle, Sakura nodded as she began to spin around, twirling Kibou along with her as she tossed him far along the training field.

Flying through the air with gritted teeth, Kibou was about to flip himself over, stumbling on the separation of the earth.

Holding her hand out to catch the bell, Sakura smiled at her success, her training with Tsunade being more helpful than she would have wanted to admit. Just before the bell could touch her palm, a dark skinned hand had gripped her wrist and twisted her, causing her to cartwheel to the left.

Taking her place in catching the bell, Kibou held his hand out, but this had being halted as he spotted something out his peripheral. This caused him to tap the bell up to prolong it's descend. His right arm folded as he guarded his head, a fist connected with his shoulder, the pain being shrugged off in a second, but it caused him to leap over to the left to distance himself.

"Rasengan!"

Kibou felt the rise in chakra, his head lifting as he saw Naruto falling out of the air with a cyan blue sphere in his cocked back right hand. Without any hesitation, he moved his right hand out to the side as he began to channel lightning chakra to his hand. "Ranikari." He mumbled as his hand was scattered with lightning, it swirling over his palm until a spherical object formed over his palm. It was various shades of a shining blue with continuous layers, the very core being a shiny violet color, lightning cursing around it, but it was smaller compared to Naruto's Rasengan.

At seeing this, Naruto smirked as he slammed the Rasengan down on Kibou. "Pretty small, huh?"

"But with a big bite." Kibou snapped, lifting his right hand, slamming his sphere onto Naruto's, causing a massive gust of wind to be blown out, which made the trees sway violently with the rubble being blown away, their hair swaying.

Naruto lifted his left hand and hid his face with his forearm, his eyes narrowing from the sheer power. 'Man...what type of power is the guy packing?'

Kibou gritted his teeth, acknowledging what Naruto had just dropped on him. Though his face was calm, he was completely impressed with Naruto. 'This boy...'

Watching the group, hiding the faces from the power being blown at the group, Tsunade, Tenten, Shizune, Jiraiya, and Asa could barely stand up to what was being thrown at them. The clash of their chakra had seemed to correspond with one another all too well, both combined becoming a fearful power.

As she hid her face, Asa's hand covered her left eye, gritting her teeth down tightly.

Leaning in a bit more as he gritted his teeth, Naruto emptied more chakra into his Rasengan as it began to grow in size.

Kibou followed and added more chakra into his Ranikari, but instead of growing in size, the violet color had taken over more layer of blue other than just the core.

Becoming unstable from the collision of the two massive chakra, in the centre of the focus points of the attacks, a white light had began to illuminate the center of the two attacks as the two attacks erupted in a bright white light.

The explosion had sent the two flying: Naruto being caught in the arms of a grinning Sakura, while Kibou landed in the water, sinking instantly, but he had found himself pulling himself up, kneeling on the surface of the water.

Panting, in the arms of Sakura, Naruto looked up to the girl, falling to his own two feet, a bit off balance due to his lack of chakra at the moment. He had pure a bit too much chakra into that Rasengan and now he was paying for it. He turned to face Sakura, his face filled with fatigue and Sakura noticed this, though she continued to grin. This caused his to raise his brow. "What...Sakura?"

Continuing to grin, Sakura lifted her right hand to show Naruto the bell that hung from the red yarn. "Check it out." She gave him an eye closed smile.

Naruto eyes slowly widened in realization to what she had in her hand. "When...- how'd you get that?" He asked, pointing a trembling finger to it.

"Oh," Sakura tossed it up, swiping it out of the air. "Snag it out the while the two of you fought." She spoke, her tone indicating that she was proud of herself. "But, now that I got this, I guess it's time to find Kakashi-sensei."

"Yeah..." Naruto grumbled. His head lowered, eyes trailing to his right hand. If one would look closely enough, they would see slight trickles of violet colored lightning scattering around his hand. This boy was strong...and he could feel it.

Sakura's head shifted passed Naruto to look toward the water. "Hey, Kibou!" She called as the boy's head lifted to look up at her, fatigue obvious on his face also. "You know where we can find Kakashi-sensei?"

Never taking the chance to lift from his knees, he moved his right hand, performing the single hand seal, activating Kakashi's Mūn Basho seal. He wasn't sure how much chakra he had left to perform anymore Jutsu before he passed out from a total chakra exhaustion.

In that next second, Kakashi had appeared to the left of Kibou, reading that turquoise Icha Icha book. The man blinked as he lifted his head to look around, seeing Sakura and Naruto on a devastated training field, looking at him, their brows twitching. He closed his eyes, smiling from behind his mask. "Oh...hey you two."

"THAT'S WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING!?" The two yelled, wagging their fist at the grey haired Jonin.

Tsunade saw what book the man held in his hand, prompting her to rub the bridge of her nose. "Typical, Kakashi."

Shizune only let out a sheepish chuckle at the usual habits of Kakashi, though Tenten only blinked in confusion, never seeing that book before.

Jiraiya simply chuckled, his arms remaining crossed over his chest with a toothy grin. He was obviously proud of himself and his work on the latest issue of the Icha Icha series, feeling as if this was the best to date.

Removing her hand from her eye, Asa deadpanned at the man she had grew up with, this being the last thing on her mind to what the man would grow into. It what strange, Kakashi and pervert being two things that were total opposite, but they somehow the two using found their way to one another.

Continuing his eye smile, Kakashi chuckled. "So...it seems you three did a number around here." Changing the subject quickly, his eyes opened, shifting around the training field.

Sakura and Naruto simply glared at Kakashi, their brow twitching in irritation at their sensei.

Kakashi let his gaze shift down to the right eyeing the kneeling, raven haired boy, analyzing his condition. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." Kibou was able to push himself up to his own feet, fatigue still obvious on his face. "I'm just..." He closed his eyes closed as he let out a calm breath. "I'm just not use to using Genjutsu with my left eye."

Kakashi nodded. "How were they; were they able to take your bell?" He asked.

Kibou opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Sakura held up the bell in her right hand with a smile graces her features. "Of course, Kakashi-sensei." She tossed it up and caught it. "Nothing to it."

"Oh...?" Kakashi brows raised.

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered, clinching his fist in excitement. A grin was obvious on the whiskered boy's face. "Now, get ready, Kakashi-sensei, because we're gonna take that one!" He pointed to Kakashi hip and to the bell.

"They're not bad..." Kibou spoke, grabbing Kakashi attention as the man looked to him. "The two could work on their weaknesses." He silenced a bit as he began to think on his words. "Well, so could I."

"Hm." Kakashi hummed softly and placed the book back in his pouch, lifting his headband from over his eye to reveal his Sharingan once more. 'The two of them a growing right before my eyes.' He thought, his sights on the two on the devastated land. It was strange...he remembered Naruto as this hyperactive, knucklehead ninja that could barely keep up with Sasuke, but now he was able to keep up with a Jonin...but he used this loosely.

"Now..." Sakura nodded her head to Naruto. "Without further ado."

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei."

"What are you doing, Sakura?" Kakashi spoke, looking directly to the pink haired girl, causing her to blink in confusion. He placed a hand on his hip, staring to the girl. "You've already got a bell, so this is between me and Naruto."

"Oh..." Sakura's head lowered, staring to the bell in her hand, her thoughts racing. After a few second of thinking, her head raised and flung the bell back to Kibou, it soaring to the boy. "Then take it back for now."

Kibou caught the bell, blinking in confusion.

Kakashi simply looked at the girl with his dull eyes, smiling behind his mask.

"Sakura..." Naruto turned to her, his brow raised, sharing Kibou's confusion. "...What are you doing...you got that fair and square."

"Yeah, I know, Naruto." Sakura gave the boy a smile. "But this is our first time training together in three years, so we'll take those bells together, Naruto." She said, her brows furrowed in determination.

Smirking at her words, a grin cascaded across Naruto's features, his brows knitting as they both turned to Kakashi and Kibou.

"Good..." Kakashi nodded, readying himself for the battle. "But let's see how you two do against the both of us."

As he said this, Kibou lifted his right hand and performed his one hand seal, gathering chakra into his eyes as he began to activate his Dojutsu. In that very instant, his eyes widened, the sound of his heartbeat thumping in his ears violently, a sharp pain piercing his eyes. He groaned as he stepped forward, his feet shaky, his eyes being squeezed closed, trying to cope with the pain coming from them. His teeth gritted, covering both his eyes, though they had already been closed. "Argh...what the hell..." He growled out, his eyes beginning to crack open, shifting his fingers out of the way to peak through.

Once he was able to see, the pain had seemed to lift from his eyes, which gave him the opportunity to let them widen in shock at the darkness ahead of him, able to make a rocky wall far away from his position. His head shifted, taking a few steps forward just to look around, his head lifting to the where would guess a ceiling would be and he was right...kinda. What he barely saw through the darkness was a surface full of hanging stalactites, all coming to sharp points.

Blinking as he looked up at the rock formations, he scratched his head, his gaze becoming leveled once more. A thoughtful expression played along his face with a questioning hum accompanying it. "This is definitely not the training field." He acknowledged, turning around to the scope the place out just a bit more, but his eyes was greeted with the same suffocating darkness. "So...where...am I?"

As he continued to search around the area, a flashing brightness had caught his attention, causing his lower eyelids to raise a it. His eyes following the light, he looked down, eyes widening at the sight below him. What he could make out was a large ring shape far below him with a single crescent moon shape attached to the sides pointing outward, resembling that symbol he had dreamt of in Yuki no Kuni.

After a few second of eyeing the symbol below, his brow quirked, realizing he was floating in the air, high over the ground below. "Okay...this is peculiar..." He said aloud, tapping the toe of his left sandal down, his foot hitting something solid that felt like a very thick coating of hard plastic. "Hmm..." Crouching down to his knees, Kibou tapped the invisible platform he was standing on. "What is this?" Was his question as he tapped it with his index finger.

He could not explain it, but he was getting mixed feelings from this place, this confusing him entirely. It felt like a bit of familiarity, though it also brought along a overwhelming sickening feeling that caused emotions of doubt and forlorn to stir within him.

Lowering his index finger back to the invisible surface, he hummed to himself, blinking as the tip of his finger sparked with lightning. He dragged his finger along it, but was surprised when the lightning around the tip of his finger dispersed abruptly. "O...kay..." He let out, staring at his finger, wreaking his brain in order to figure it out.

"Now, we must begin the seal!"

Snapping him back into reality, Kibou heard the boom of the loud voice, his attention being drawn below him as he began to focus his vision due to his Dojutsu and it's unwillingness to activate at this moment. What he saw was a gathering of male and females, all of various skin tones, some with raven black hair, though the predominant hair color was snowy white. All sat on their knees and all around the outline of the large symbol, measuring to about one hundred individual, all facing the middle of the ring, acknowledging the four rings within the main ring, each becoming smaller as it reached a dark skinned baby on a small pedestal in the middle.

The only thing that each individual seemed to have in common was the styles of whitish-grey Kimono, all having magatama around the collar and helm of the sleeve. Focusing just a bit more, his eyes widened, noticing each of those outlining the symbol had blood red eyes like his. His lower eyelids lifted in concern, his mind running rampant, a ton of idea coming to his mind about those individuals below.

"Is this...the Jitsu...getsu?" He wondered as his eyes shifted back to the middle of rings and back to the raven haired baby in the middle, spotting only two individual on the smallest ring close to the middle. The both of them stood on either side of the pedestal, their hands lifted with a single hand seal in front of their faces and their eyes closed.

One was a pale skinned woman of average height and in her late thirties with snowy white hair that match her skin and fell down her back and to the floor, the bangs on her forehead being pushed to the left and right, merging with a full bang that framed both sides of her face. She also wore evident pink lipstick and her eyebrows being circular, matching her hair. Her outfit consisted of a white sweeping kimono that had no obi, hiding her feet, it being multicolored at the bottom and at the cuff of her sleeve, the undergarments being blue. Around her neck, she wore a necklace that looked similar to the large symbol she was standing in.

On the other side of the pedestal stood a man, about the same age as her with dark skin, being taller than her by a few inches. The man had short raven black hair that took the appearance of being partially combed back, but was lifted, spiking to the back, curving down, but the tips curved up with a bang framing his face. His features were masculine, with a square jaw, his mouth in a permanent scowl, though his eyes were closed. He wore a normal enough white kimono with magatama trailing down the center of the chest and to the belly button.

Kibou watched the two, his eyes lowering at the baby, feeling the sense of a connection to him. "This...this is the Jitsugetsu clan..." He said, noticing the marking of several magatama in a circle in the middle of the baby's chest with a ring connecting each of them. "And that must be..." He unzipped his top and looked to his chest as the design that was on the baby's chest had faded onto his chest. "...Me..."

"Subete ten seikatsu tensō(All Heavenly Life Transfer)!" Both the man and the woman chanted out, their eyes snapping open to reveal the woman with lavender colored eyes that also took over the sclera with four rings that surrounded the dotted pupil, three magatama placed along the first ring. The males eyes were much like her's though the color was red, magatama placed on the second ring.

Everything had suddenly went dark, his nose wrinkling as a soft breeze tickled the tip. Cracking open slightly, He realized he was laying down, his head propped up on something with his arms down to his side. His nose wrinkled again, the soft breeze tickling him once more. This caused his eyes to open fully, though they widened then blinked curiously at the sight over him. "Tenten...?" He spoke out, calling the girl who's face was a few inches away from his, her eyes closed.

His eyes began to widen, a massive blush crossing over his cheeks. "Tenten!" He said with urgency, thinking the girl was leaning in to kiss him, but the blush had slowly subsided when he realized that the girl wasn't moving...in fact, her soft breaths and her closed eyes with that soft expression told him she was asleep, her bangs hanging.

"Why is she asleep?"

**Chapter End**

So, there it is. I hope you all like this chapter and the fight scene against the three. It was pretty hard to do this one due to the fact that I wanted it to be very detailed so that you all could imagine it in your head.

And before I go, I want to tell you that with the addition of Kibou, there will be a lot of twist and secrets in the Naruto world that will slowly be revealed.

And with that, Goodbye and see you next time!


	12. Team 7 United

Okay, to start this off, I will admit, I will be getting through the 'Rescue the Kazekage' in at least three to five chapters due to this arc not really peaking my interest in the start of the Shippuden. I'm not saying it was bad, but it was just slow. That Sasuke arc was the one that grabbed me, minus the addition of Sai...Sai...Sai was just too bland for my taste and never really showed off in any way to impress me, but he'll be in this, though it really pains me to say.

Though this is , people pm me and say I still need to do this...

Disclaimer: Hey, I don't own Naruto or any of the characters...just the plot of this FANFIC.

**Naruto Shippuden: The Route to Enlightenment**

**Start**

"Tenten...?" He voice held slight interest, staring up to the girl, watching her mouth open just the mildest and close, letting out her breaths that continued to graze across his skin. Eyes softening, his eyes were locked onto the face of Tenten, her head tilting up and down with each inhale and exhale accordingly. Some time ago, the realization that this girl was cute had already been established, but seeing her now on made him come to the fact that she was down right adorable when she slept, and that was when most were at peace.

He didn't know how to explain it, but he some how felt attached to this girl above him. It wasn't because of her looks, because he couldn't care less about that, but some more. She wasn't like other girls he had dealt with in the past. The girl was strong in her own way and confident in her own ability, and that was something he liked a lot. He condoned individuality. These thoughts had begin to make his mind run rampant about him and Tenten, his head on her lap being the first time he had been this close in proximity to her. On a daily basis, he attempted to refrain from thinking to much, his mind being a lot more complex than he would like to admit, but it was true. Once he began to trample through his thoughts, it was hard for him to stop planning and analyzing, this skill being well-known to those back on his team back in the other world..but he had long since let go of the memories of that world.

Though it was a bit of a nuisance, and it was hard for him to come to a conclusion, but he could see himself with Tenten more than any if the other girls around his age; and that went twice for that handful Ino Yamanaka. The only other person he could see himself with, though she wasn't in his age group, was, admittedly, Shizune. He like her, and it was as simple as that...her dark hair was enticing. He didn't want himself taking his own words the wrong way and made him think he had an infatuation toward either of them...it was the fact that the two of them stood out more than the others.

"You busy?"

Being snapped back into reality, his eyes shifted to the left as his head did the same thing on Tenten's lap to see Asa, the older, brown haired woman sitting on her knee, looking down to him with her eyes closed. He blinked, eyeing the Ex Anbu Captain. "How long..." His brow raised. "How long were you watching?"

"Not to sound creepy..." She began, her brown eyes opening. "But I've been here with Tenten since you passed out and she just fell asleep, so don't be too loud."

"Really..."

Asa sighed, closing her eyes as she placed her hands on her lap. "Kibou...you may be a good sensory shinobi, but you still have a lot of room to improve on, you know." She informed.

"Yes, I know." Kibou nodded as he continued. "But what happened? Where are the other?"

"Well..." Asa started, her eyes drifting away from the boy, a soft look crossing her face, the forlorn evident. "You passed out so suddenly earlier...I thought you were out of chakra; we thought you were gone." She said.

Kibou blinked. "We?" He repeated.

Her vision went back on Kibou as see eyed the boy. He already had no clue about Tenten and her admiration to him, so she would remain quiet about it to not stir up any complications. "Kibou, you know you are a trusted Konoha shinobi." She said, the boy's eyes never leaving her. "We all care for you." A smile was on her face, though it vanished as her eyes shifted. "Well, Naruto cared a lot less...but he still displayed worry when he saw you."

Kibou let out calming sigh, his eyes closing. "Figures."

"Uh, well..." Her look softened at seeing the expression on Kibou. She smiled to him. "But it was strange...Tenten was the one who caught you when you passed out."

Returning his gaze back to the woman, Kibou blinked.

Asa smiled at him, her eyes showing obvious joy. "She saw it before the rest of us saw you tipping." She said. "I was surprised, because she showed some impressive speed that let her clear the training field in one go."

Hearing this, his eyes only turned to look back up at Tenten and her sleeping face.

"She caught you, brought you here and laid your head there." She said, her fingers fiddling with one another, her eyes also lowering. "She did her best to heal you, but she'd let Tsunade-sama do it...Tenten's been watching over you."

Letting this digest, another thing had been added to his admiration to Tenten, her standing out the most to him out of all the Konoha Females, Ino being in last place completely. He knew he talks about her a lot, but he really dislikes her.

Asa watched as the boy had began to lift up and got on one know, slowly letting the twin bun wearing girl fall into his arms, laying her down on the grass. When he wanted to be, Kibou was actually a sweetheart. He was very thoughtful when it came to people he liked, and that meant Ino, too. Maybe on the outside, and on the inside too, he just had a strong distaste for her, but Kibou would never let someone hurt anyone in any way. It was like a mixture of love and hate for the blond, because she knew the boy would attempt to protect if it came to it.

Kibou was still on his knee, looking to Tenten with a soft look. Okay, what was wrong with him and this feeling he was getting from her? It was like he was being drawn to her now, a lot more than he was the first time he had met her. After eyeing her sleeping body for another second, he stood up to his full height, his back to Asa as her eyes followed him. His eyes trailed around the area, this being the first he seeing that it was night, clouds drifting in front of a crescent moon. If he wanted to be exact, it was at least three o'clock in the morning, meaning a few hours had passed since that strange dream he had. But...that was too real to had been a dream...because he was positive that baby wad him and those were probably his real parents. If they were his parents, he still had too many questions to why he was in that other world and not this one and why he looked more like his father than his mother, though he did like the dark hair.

Asa looked up to his back, her expression soft and thoughtful. "Are you okay, Kibou?" She inquired, blinking once. "For some reason...you feel different." Her words left het mouth, this time it coming from her heart, a lot of thought behind it.

"Wha...?" Kibou turned his head to the left, looking over his shoulder and at the woman. As he did this, he closed his eyes, turning to her while he shook his head. "What? No...it's nothing..." He opened his eyes and looked down at the woman, his red eyes on her. "I just..." His shook once more. "No...it's nothing." This was repeated, his words being lost to him.

She could tell it was a lie, his eyes being a dead giveaway. Though most would be unable to see this, she could tell his eyes were not clear and being clouded by something heavy. But she didn't want to push. It was still a growing process and she would wait for the time he would want to open up to her.

Clearing his thoughts, his eyes shifted around the area, seeing that the training field had been fixed after Sakura slammed into it. Kakashi may have fixed it, knowing he wielded earth style ninjutsu also. Trailing back down to Asa, he spoke. "Where are the others?" He asked, noticing the lack of chakra around the area, though he felt it deeper into the forest.

"Oh, yeah..." Asa blinked, her etes a bit wide as she went into the scarf around her neck, rustling through it to find what she was looking for. "The others told me to tell you that you better not give up on this test..." She pulled out the bell and tossed it to him, the red string swinging.

Kibou caught it in his right hand, blinking at the woman in slight shock.

Asa smiled at the red eyed boy. "Naruto said this went double for him, too..." She said, her eyes closed. "So, you may want to go now."

"Yeah..." Kibou said, opening his hand to look down at the bell and how the string was curving around it. It brought back the image of the symbol on his chest. Though his mind was running rampant with the thoughts of what it had meant, his pupil had once again elongated into a slit, sprout another horizontally through it as it began to slowly rotate to drag around a thick black line around the iris to create a full outline of a circle. The boy made a hand seal in front of his face. 'I wonder...' He thought to himself, and nodded a second later. 'Found you.'

Asa snickered, watching as his Dojutsu spun in his eye, it stopping. "Just don't overwork yourself." She said in which the boy nodded. "And do try to hold back on them."

"I'll try." Kibou spoke, turning his back on the woman to face the forest. Looking over his shoulder before he took his leave, he left her with a salute using two fingers while saying "After this, tell her we should get something to eat", eyeing the woman over his shoulder.

"I-"

Before the woman could reply, Kibou nodded. "Goodbye." And then he leaped high into a tree, disappearing into the forest.

'Wait...' Her head tilted to the side in question, a confused look on her face as she let Kibou's words sink in. 'Did he just...?'

"Hm?"

Knocking her back into reality, Asa heard the soft groans of the once sleeping girl in front of her, watching as the girl slowly pushed herself up with one arm, using the other to rub her her half lidded eyes.

Tenten moaned tiredly as she sat up lazily, her groggy appearance telling Asa that she was ready to go back to sleep. "Wha..." She began, her words just a bit slurred due to her current weariness. "Where's Ki-chan?" She asked, looking around herself, wondering if she went to sleep on top if him.

"Oh," Asa eyes aimed at the forest behind Tenten. "He just left." She informed the brown eyed girl. "He's going to continue Naruto and Sakura's training."

Trying to force herself awake, she was able to gather herself enough to shift and sit on her knees, her hands on them. "What? Really?" She questioned, astounded, her eyes widening just a bit. "He's moving already?"

Asa nodded, a simple smile gracing her features. "Yep..." She said, though she had a thoughtful tone, her eyes trailing to the sky, wondering if she had forgotten something important.

"Something wrong, Asa-sama?" Tenten asked, bewildered by her expression.

Snapping her fingers, Asa looked directly to Tenten and said, "I meant to ask him about that Ranikari jutsu", slapping her right hand into her palm.

"Wha..." Tenten let out, sweatdropping.

"He told me once," Asa began as she placed the back of her right hand on the palm of her left hand, resting them both on her lap so that the palms were pointed upward. "It's a very advance nature transformation that deals with a exceptional amount of chakra control, Yang chakra, and Raiton." She began. Though Kibou had weak Chakra Control, he was able to perform this Ninjutsu, but once a battle, or sometimes twice when his Dojutsu was activated.

"Be sure to separate both your Yang chakra and Raiton."

As she eyed her hands, Asa blinked, watching as Tenten cupped the sides of her hands, doing what she wanted to help. She lifted her head to look at the brown haired girl, though she was met with the top of her head, the girl looking down to both their hands. This prompted her to look down to their hands, lifted in the middle between the two of them.

Eyeing their hands, following the steps Kibou had relayed to her, she began. "Since I have and idea of Medical Ninjutsu, I'll be the one to use Yang."

Asa nodded. "Then I guess I'm in control if Raiton."

"Okay..." Tenten began activating her Medical Ninjutsu, being sure to focus on her Yang portion. "To begin, I think I have to rotate the Yang chakra to my right in small circles." She said, focusing her chakra, following her own instructions, doing what she remembered Kibou telling her. "As I remember, do the same, but use Raiton at full burst."

Nodding, Asa began to channel chakra to her hands, it streaming to both of their, lightning being produced around them as it began to swirl to the right in circles. "Okay...you got the next step?" She asked, the lightning fading to a violet color, mixing with the Yang chakra.

"Um...let me think." Tenten spoke, racking her brain to remember what Kibou had told her, the information on this a bit fuzzy. After a few seconds of watching the lightning swirl, she nodded to her. "With lightning..." She began going off Kibou words. "Be sure to increase the vibration until you can feel heat."

"O...kay..." Asa spoke, a bit unsure as she forced more chakra in her lightning, increasing it's vibration per nanosecond, the violet lightning erupting, but swirling into a tennis ball sized sphere with multiple layers of lightning, all different shades of blue with the centre being violet. She blinked in astonishment, but she then blinked as lightning cursed around the sphere. "Uh...I think this is much larger than Kibou's."

"Yeah." Tenten nodded, blinking a bit. "That's because Kibou compresses the lightning into a smaller ball before it is formed."

At her saying this, everything had become quiet, the ball gradually growing, the jutsu becoming unstable, it reaching the size of being larger than the both of them, this grabbing their attention as it floated over them.

Both Tenten and Asa began scooting back, their eyes widening as various currents of lightning were shot all over the area, causing the two of them to roll and dodge to to avoid being hit. The lightning was strong enough to create large craters with scatters of lightning being left behind.

"Tenten, get back!" Asa yelled as she leaped to the left and dodged a bolt of lightning.

The weapon specialist nodded and distanced herself from the ball, leaping high and backward, landing on a branch in a tree.

"Futon!" Asa swiped two fingers at the growing ball as it was cut diagonally in half by a slice of wind. Though it had been cut in half, both sides rounded out and created two more spheres. 'They're malleable!?' Groaning, she did that previous gesture several more times until the growing sphere was cut into smaller variations of spheres. "Danzetsu fū katto(Sever Wind Cut)!" Lifting her right foot she stomped forward, her brows furrowed. "Nīdoru dangan danmaku(Needle Bullet Barrage)!" She then aimed her palm at the scattering spheres, each being struck by barely visible needles, causing them to pop before they could explode on their own, which she knew would have cause a lot of damage.

With the spheres being dispersed, trails of lightning was left scattering over the training field.

Asa sighed as she lowered her right arm, rubbing the back of her head. "Kibou..." She mumbled in half irritation and half amazement. "How do you use this during a fight?" This brought up a variety of questions to how Kibou even fought properly with such massive chakra reserves and low chakra control.

Leaping from the tree she was in, Tenten jogged over to Asa, a smile of amazement on her face. "Did you really just do that?"

"Uh...yeah..." Asa said, placing her hand on her hip, flipping her hair. "Don't think I got the rank of Anbu Captain by just eating..." She trailed off as something just clicked. "Oh, yeah..." Her fingers snapped. "Kibou told me to tell you something."

**(Scene Change)**

**(Amegakure no Sato)**

**(Same Time)**

Meanwhile, at exactly the same time, in the village predominantly ruled by rain, a male sat along a tongue of the tallest tower of the industrial-esque buildings. It was was a man with messy orange hair, wearing a long black cloak with red cloud placed around it. He wore a headband with the Ame insignia scratched out, his eyes sharp, a lavender color with multiple ring placed within the sclera to circle a dotted pupil. Around his face, he also held multiple piercings: a metal bar through each ear, three studs through the side of its upper nose, and one spike stud on each end of the bottom lip.

The man overlooked his village, his right arm resting on his knee, not bothered byvthe raib falling. This was where it would begin, and continuing with the leader's plans meant capturing that Jitsugetsu survivor. He didn't know what he was planning, but he knew the eyes and chakra of the boy was very special and could benefit the both of them if obtained.

Slowly, his head lowered as his eyes closed, projecting himself into a cave, standing the thumb of a gigantic, humanoid statue. Opening his eyes, he watched as several silhouettes appeared, each with a rainbow colored outline, standing on the other fingers of the hands. Though most of the fingers were filled, there were at least three missing.

"This is strange..." The silhouette standing on the left ring finger had spoke. It was a tall man with the only thing visible being his beady eyes. "Calling a meeting so suddenly." He said looking over to the Leader. "Why's this?"

The Leader looked to the male, eyeing the Kiri-nin. "As you all know, Sasori and Deidara are currently acquiring the One Tailed Shukaku, so I will need a team of you to relay this message to them, this being effective to all of you..." He continued. "As the plans still stand, I must inform you all that when capturing the Jitsugetsu, full force is necessary, just be sure not to damage his eyes."

"Authorizing full force?" The same beady eyed male spoke. "He must be a real problem for you to do this."

"We must acquire his eyes before he has the chance to advance in power." He said. "It is a fact that the Jitsugetsu have been extinct since before Konoha was established, this clan being Pioneers of most Jutsu we see today, and it is known that by time, a member grows strong as he or she is surrounded by strong chakra."

**(Break)**

**(Konohagakure no Sato)**

**(Training Field- Forest)**

"Crap!" Naruto growled through gritted teeth, leaping from tree to tree with Sakura behind him, hot on his trail. Both his fist were clinched in irritation, aggravation obvious on his face, brows furrowed. He had never realized how strong Kakashi was back in the day, but know he was getting a first hand demonstration on how good of a shinobi he was. "Lightning, earth, fire, and water." He continued to leap. "He sure is tricky."

"Well, yeah." Sakura nodded, behind Naruto. Unlike Naruto, she was a lot more calmer, but she realized the threat Kakashi was and the danger he could be. "Everyone knows of Kakashi-sensei." She informed, causing the blond to look out the corner of his eyes. "Copycat ninja isn't a name he came up with himself."

"Hm, yeah." Naruto groaned as he turned his attention back forward. "If Kakashi-sensei isn't overkill, we still have that Jitsugetsu guy to deal with if he ever wakes up." He said, remembering how swiftly the boy moved and that last jutsu he used to stop his Rasengan.

Sakura nodded. "And we could just barely keep up with him." She said, shaking her head. "Hopefully, we can find a way to outsmart him when his Dojutsu is activated."

Naruto looked over his shoulder to his pink haired teammate, blinking a few times. "Hey, I've been meaning to asked about that." He began, causing the girl to look at him. "You said Dojutsu...you mean like Sasuke's and Neji's?"

"I think so." Sakura said, a thoughtful tone leaving her mouth, not too sure about the Heiwagan and it's origins. "There's not too much to go on with it. I and the others just know that it is a addition to the three legendary Dojutsu." Halting, she nodded to herself. "To my knowledge, Kakashi-sensei has the most information, because of the Third Shinobi War and a man by the name of Koichi Jitsugetsu." As she spoke, the sound of caws, followed by sounds of intense lightning had began to ring in both their ears, drawing their attention forward to see.

In the distance, with what they could make out, was a shining blue light that was gradually closing on them.

Just before they could react, a large gathering of falcons, completely made from lightning had shot passed and above them, no intention of connecting or harming them, leaving behind a weak gust of wind, though it still causes them to shield their face

In nanosecond that the leader of the flock passed him, Naruto's head and eyes followed it in shock, spotting the red left eye of the entirely cyan blue falcon-esque lightning. It bewildered him because it had that same design as that Kibou guy.

As the flock of falcon continued on their way, both Naruto and Sakura landed on the same branch, watching the shine of the blue light fade away into the darkness. The two looked to one another, both knowing who that was.

Widening the distance between them and Sakura and Naruto, the flock of falcon had began to converge with one another, all clumping together, combining to make a larger falcon of lightning that was about the size of a average man. Soon after the falcon was formed, it slowly began to fade away, morphing down into Kibou, front flipping onto a branch as he proceeded onward. Leaping through the trees, trailing in the direction of where he sensed Kakashi, his eyes were coming to a stop after spinning.

**(Scene Change)**

Guess they were stronger now, and he could admit this.

Sitting against the trunk of a tree, Kakashi panted, keeping himself aware of all his surroundings. He was readying himself for any sort of attack the two could come up with, though he did not know how much he had left in him in going head to head with the two, the Sharingan almost being pushed to it's limits. It was like a dream come true where, back with the original Team 7, he could fend them off with practically one had m, while also readying a book. How time did fly to the point where he couldn't take an eye off them without a Kage Bushin coming after him or a punch that could possibly end his career aimed at his face.

The man sighed, resting his head back as he looked to the sky with both his eyes. "They're pushing the Sharingan pretty far." He admitted truthfully. "I never would've thought this day would ever come." Flashbacks of him toying with them ran through his head.

"The Sharingan has only a few hours left in it, but I guess it can go until sunrise." He said as he looked back to his pouch, remembering what was in there. "But I wish this would be over with already." He protested. "I really want to see what happens in the book, because it is quite obvious that the protagonist has a secret and is about to spill it some time soon." This was just antagonizing. "The suspense is killing me."

On the other side of the tree, Kakashi never realized the dark skin Jonin standing, leaning up against the tree with his arms crossed and closed, sweatdropping at Kakashi's mini freak out.

Slowly maneuvering his hand to his pouch, he was giving in to temptation, his urge to read the book on red. "Come on," He drooled mentally. "Maybe just a few pages to-"

"Kakashi!"

Hearing this shout, stopping his hand in it's tracks, he froze, sweat falling from his head, recognizing the voice easily.

"You are not alone out here." Kibou informed, becoming slightly uncomfortable as the man practically drooled over the book.

"I- uh..." At a lost for words, Kakashi decided to clear his throat, patting his chest as he regained his composer, both his eyes closed. "So, Kibou..." He began, opening his eyes m, shifting them to the left as if he was looking through the tree. Though he would never admit it, he was just a bit embarrassed. "Are you any better now?"

Throwing away the awkward situation, Kibou answered the man he now saw in a new light. "Yeah." He continued, his eyes now opening to show his Dojutsu still active. It took him a few seconds to go on, this taking him a lot of willpower to go. "I just needed a break." He said. "My Ranikari takes up more than half of my chakra, while I'm not still use to using Genjutsu yet."

"Do you think you are able to continue?"

"Seems both Naruto and Sakura are having their own problem." Kibou hinted.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi raised a brow.

"Oh," Though he gave a mischievous vibe, Kibou facial stayed as nonchalant as ever. "On my way here to locate you, I passed Naruto and Sakura and the two looked to be stomped." He said, causing Kakashi brows to raise. "So, I have no doubt they'll be coming here if they can possibly come up with what they would call a plan."

"Hm." This caused Kakashi gaze to trail back in front of him.

"And now I've got something to combat whatever plan they come up with."

**(Scene Change)**

"Okay, we got Kakashi-sensei down, but what will we do about Kibou?"

Blinking, in obvious bewilderment, Naruto eyed the girl that leaned toward him, her eyes wide, definitely intrigued at how he came up with the plan to get the bell from Kakashi, but it seemed that she expected him to have a plan to get the last bell from that Jitsugetsu guy. How was he suppose to come up with a plan for someone he hardly knew and only mer earlier? It was a fact that the boy was strong, and not knowing anything made it a lot tougher to combat the boy, which would cause this to drag out. He hummed a bit, blinking at Sakura. "I don't know, Sakura..." He said, obviously unsure.

Sakura pouted, her brows turning upward in worry.

"I mean..." He scratched the back of his head, eyes drifting to the sky and to the moon, watching it slowly drift. "I only just met the guy." His eyes went back to Sakura. "What about you? You've known him for some time..."

Sakura blinked, setting down to eye the blond.

Naruto leaned closer to her with a mischievous look on his face. "C'mon, Sakura, I know you have something on the guy." He pursued. "Give me something to use."

"Uh..." This time, her eyes drifted away from the whiskered blond, nothing popping into her head at the moment. Or did she just not know anything about him. It was alright if Naruto didn't know anything about Kibou, because he was a idiot and had just me the Jitsugetsu male, but what was her excuse. It was a fact, she had spent almost seven months with the boy and she had nothing to prove that she knew him. In all honesty, she trusted Kibou and saw the boy as a finely improved shinobi, her memory on the day he had arrived in Konoha very clear in her head. The day she had met him was the day he also met Tenten.

"You should take the first one from Kakashi-sensei."

Being hit back into reality, Sakura eyes went to Naruto, watching her sun blond haired friend push himself up from his knees, letting a soft grunt of his own. Her eyes watched him, a mixture of confusion and curiosity on her face.

Standing up to his full height, Naruto looked off into the distance with a hand on his hip, smiling as he thought about how much he was improving. "Sakura, you use the distraction against Kakashi-sensei and I'll go after that Jitsugetsu guy." He said, only his eyes shifting to her, his hair swaying from a sudden breeze.

"N-Naruto-" Sakura stammered, blinking at the boy that stood over her. "I don't think you've thought this through enough." She began, pushing herself up to stand with the boy, looking to the side of his face.

"Huh?" Naruto turned to her fully with his hands out. "How?"

Sakura eyed him for a few seconds, noticing the question on his face, knowing he wanted to know why she had said this, so she told him. "Naruto...at his base, we were barely able to keep up with him...I don't think we laid a finger on him, minus the small things."

"Hm?"

"And I can honestly say, with his eyes activated, he can even rival Kakashi-sensei, and the two of them together are pretty much Konoha's most current Elite team, both being gifted with their eyes." She paused, causing Naruto to blink in shock. "But, right now, I hardly know his full strength...and I barely understand his Dojutsu."

As she explained this to him, Naruto simply stared at her, this surprising him just a bit. By their first encounter at the gates, he could already tell that Kibou was a great shinobi, but with this information to add to it, he could only raise the bar higher...and this only made him smirk a lot more, this exciting him.

Sakura watched the smirk spread across his face, having this sudden bad feeling bubble from her gut. "Naruto...?"

The boy in question simply punched his left fist into the palm of his other hand, his eyes glimmering with excitement, his foxy grin showing his enthusiasm to the situation.

Seeing this, knowing what was crossing the mind of Naruto, her eyes lowered. "Oh, no, Naruto..."

"So," Naruto began. "If I can top someone like that Jitsugetsu guy, that means that I'll be close to surpassing Kakashi-sensei." His grin widened at the thought.

'Is that...all he's thinking about?' She asked herself, watching the boy closely, her eyes soft. Guess he still had his drive to become stronger, this being displayed by his eagerness to go against a Jonin level shinobi. It was incredible to see that Naruto was still that same kid as before, willing to fight blindly against a higher level shinobi without being definite about his abilities. A smile crossed her as she analyzed the boy, admiring him for his determination, his confidence able to propel him to fighting against Kibou.

Pushing herself up to stand with Naruto, Sakura nodded and punched her fist together. "Yeah, then let's go."

**(Break)**

His red eyes shifted around, locating the oncoming chakra that was closing in on the both of them. Using his Dojutsu unique abilities, he dived deeper into the forest, going through layers and layer until he saw the two of them. He was certain it was them, leaping from tree to tree, coming in the direction of him and Kakashi. Reading their faces as they proceeded toward them, it was obvious that they were attempting to get the bells for the final time with this final go. Closing both his eyes, he turned around to face the grey haired man, his head lowered in the direction of Kakashi, who a sitting, leaned against a tree, resting his Sharingan from what he would guess was a obnoxious battle between him and the others.

Kakashi let his gaze meet up with Kibou face, noticing the expression he took. Guess resting would have to wait. "How long do we have?" Was his simple question. There was not much too it. He knew Kibou knew that recuperating wouldn't be prolonged so he kept constant watch in all directions, his surveillance skill being a valuable asset.

Kibou eyes cracked open to look down and at the stoic Kakashi. "No more than three minutes, so you should ready yourself." He explained to the other Jonin.

Kakashi let out a short chuckle, sending an eye smile up to the raven haired Jonin. "If they are coming straight for us, they must have a plan..."

"Or they are probably just stupid." Kibou added in all seriousness.

Kakashi tilted his head to the sides, his eyes still closed. X-ing out Sakura, then Kibou would be right about that statement. "You don't know how close you are..." He mumbled, a sweatdrop falling. "Besides that, I know one of them was about to come up with a plan to get the bell..." He paused. "So, be careful."

"Hmm..." Kibou only hummed, placing a hand on his hip.

*Rustle, Rustle*

The noise had caused the two to become highly alert, their eyes being drawn to a bush far to the left. Their eyes narrowed, Kakashi Sharingan eye open, both seeing what was in the bush, attempting to hide it's presence. Waiting, the two sighed, their eyes able to see clones and the abnormal chakra network.

In that next second, that clone had leaped from inside the bush, revealing what was already known to be a Naruto clone. Once it landed, the orange jumpsuit clone dashed to the two of them with it's arms back. The clone had a large grin on his face, a kunai in it's right hand.

"Guess they've started." Kakashi nodded as he began to push himself up, but was stopped as Kibou raised his left hand to him, shaking his head, which made him sit back down. He sent the dark skin boy a curious look.

Watching the clone close in on both him and Kakashi, his aloof expression staying on his face as he watched it. Once it came into the radius of at least four of him, he threw his right hand to the side with his palm out and fingers spread as a large portal opened up in front of his palm.

Eyes widening at the sight, the clone tried to stop, but began skidding.

Though once it came into contact with the portal, it didn't faze through it, the clone slammed into it as if it was solid, taking a single, retreating step back. The eyes of clones blinked curiously.

Kibou eyes narrowed as he closed his hand in a pinching fashion, the portal shrinking down to bit size in front of the clone's chest. Once this happened, the clone chest had began to twist in a clockwise fashion, it's clothing becoming warped as it was suddenly launched away by an invisible force. Though it had been launched at a tree, it had poofed away mid air.

Kakashi blinked in shock, this ability never being displayed on any of their missions. Wait...now that he remembered, he hardly used his Dojutsu during the time span after the Chunin Exams. Being snapped from his thoughts, Kakashi was forcefully shoved back into the world as he felt the ground crack.

Feelling the ground rumble under him, Kibou turned his gaze downward just in time to see a fist coming up to him. This where he knew he had a weakness where Naruto knew how to exploit. With his flaw to not be able to sense the chakra of clones, knew he would always be at a disadvantage against the blond boy.

Raising from the ground with it's fist intent on colliding the the chin of Kibou, the clone sprouted from the earth, a smirk across it's face.

Taking s short leap back, Kibou distanced himself between him and the clone, steadying himself on the ground.

"Transform!"

With utter confusion on his face, Kibou eyes found their way to the branches of the tree Kakashi was leaning against to see Naruto crouched down, his grin wider than the clones. This one was the authentic one, and he knew this because he could sense the chakra from him and he could his chakra network was a lot more stable than the clone's who usually feed of the chakra of the original.

At the word "Transform", the clone that intended of hitting Kibou had turned into another large shurinken, though this time it was a bit larger.

Nodding to himself, Naruto leaped down from the branch. "Here we go!" He shouted, landing next to the shuriken, grabbing it with his right hand as he spun a in a counterclockwise fashion. "You might as hand that bell over to us!" He launched the large shuriken at the boy, it flying to him like a speeding bullet.

Though his facial expression had stayed the same, Kibou spoke, going into that same stance as earlier. "Quick to say this," As began, his eyes timed the shuriken flying to him, calculating the speed and the trajectory, he did a handstand back flip in the right space of time as the toe of his left foot connected with the tip of one of the blades, causing it to flip uncontrollably. Finishing the flip on his left hand, he simultaneously went into his kunai pouch and pulled out one if the knife along with a explosive waving along it. "But you still have yet to touch me." Sliding backward on the ground with his right leg spread out to the right, he nodded to Naruto.

The two of them looked to one another, Naruto grinning as the large shuriken flipped, everything slowing down as the shuriken went vertical, letting him look through the hole to Kibou.

Kibou did the same, flipping the kunai in his right hand. Catching it once again, he narrowed his eyes at Naruto and flung the kunai directly through the hole of shuriken. Using his superior eyes, he leaped up and backwards before the kunai could reach the shuriken and landed in a branch as he used his left hand to go into pouch.

"What?" Naruto let out, his eyes following him, but went back down to the kunai and shuriken, then back up to the boy in the tree.

Lifting his hand out his pouch while also lifting his right hand to make that single seal, he tossed down a few smoke bombs, while saying "Release" as the kunai exploded and popped the clone shuriken.

Naruto took a single step back as the smoke bombs hit the ground right in front and the exploded, blinding him by a purple smoke screen. He shielded his face with his arms, gritting his teeth in frustration. "Argh...what the...?" He said and ran forward to get out of the smoke cloud. Was it him, or did Kibou not just rely on his abilities and actually used what was in his arsenal. It was a bit strange to see that for some reason. Realizing he was out of the smoke and was shock to see that the boy could not be found on the branch. "He ran?" Naruto wondered, but wasted no time in leaping onto the branch the dark skin boy was on before and proceeded forward, following his instinct on where to go.

Being there for that whole transaction, Kakashi had blinked, his eyes watching Naruto's back as he soon disappeared into the trees, on his way to find Kibou. The man sighed, lowering his head at Naruto's misfortune and the route he was taking. It may have been better if Sakura was going head to head with Kibou, because she was a lot faster than him and could easily break one of his low level Genjutsu. "Wait, speaking of Sakura..." He turned his head to the right and saw the pink haired girl with a hand on her hip and a smirk on her face.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, " Sakura grinned. "Let me tell you something."

Back with Naruto, the sun blond boy was leaping through the trees, hoping to locate that Jitsugetsu guy, letting out a pensive sigh. How was this boy able to get away from him that fast without being seen?

Another sigh left his mouth as he furrowed his brows, kicking the speed into a higher gear, wanting to locate him before time was up. When he thought about it, this only made things sweeter for him. With that guy running away and parting from Kakashi, the prospect of him obtaining the bells were a lot higher in his eyes, and this made him grin. His want to find the boy was heightened as he thought on this subject.

He wanted this; he wanted the satisfaction of being closer and closer to Kakashi in strength that it was almost tearing him apart on the inside. So much time had passed since his fight against Sasuke and God only knew how strong he had gotten since then. The melancholy thoughts had only made his eyes lower greatly, but not for too long. He had gotten stronger, too, and persisted on his path to bring Sasuke back home even if it killed him. Failure was not a option next he was in the presence of him. Though the more he thought on it, he couldn't help but realize that he still needed more strength to guarantee Sasuke's return, because he already could see it would be as tough as last time.

Shaking his head, his eyes had faded to blood red much like Kibou's, but with a single vertical slit through both of them as the whisker marks became a lot more defined on his cheeks. He was completely unaware of due to the feelings, the chakra of the Kyubi that was sealed within had been leaking into his chakra. His teeth gritted as his fist clinched, his nails sharp as claws.

Continuing with his journey through the trees, his eyes scattered in order to locate the boy, wanting to put a quick end to this insignificant little training assessment. Anyone could see that this was beginning to drag out to the point where it became a bit tedious and repetitive...and he didn't even use those words! Now that really irritated him to an extent unknown to man. The only person standing in his way was that Jitsugetsu guy.

Suddenly popping into existence, a clone had appeared at his right side and leaping along with him

Lifting his right hand up, the clone hovered both it's hands over his as a small blue speck was seen. Soon, red tendrils of energy had began to swirl, the blue speck growing until it was a nicely sized sphere. Instead of the clone dispersing, it held the sphere along with the original blond as the two skipped a branch and cocked the blue sphere back, descending onto a thick tree.

**"Rasengan!"**

Eyes widening at hearing this, Kibou, hiding behind a certain thick trunk of a tree, as he lifted his right hand with his index finger pointing up. Impossible! How was Naruto able to know he was behind this tree of all trees? It couldn't be a assumption. Right? He masked his chakra completely, yet the blond didn't waste no time in finding him. The chakra he felt from Naruto had told him that he wasn't really in the right mind to think rationally.

**"Rwar!" **

At the rate the boy was moving, he wouldn't be able to dodge this 'Rasengan' technique without being grazed by it, so he did the next thing he could think of. Once he could hear the Rasengan tearing through the trunk of the tree like a piece of paper, a small portal appeared horizontally. Both his eyes closed, his mouth opening. "Nejiton." He whispered as a white ring of light began to emanate from the round portal, it being accompanied by the sound of a Grandfather clock ringing just once...

Once again, Lifting his right hand up, the clone hovered both it's hands over the original's as a small blue speck was seen. Soon, red tendrils of energy had began to swirl, the blue speck growing until it was a nicely sized sphere. Instead of the clone dispersing, it held the sphere along with the original blond as the two skipped a branch and cocked the blue sphere back, descending onto a thick tree.

In this time and space, Kibou nodded to himself, his swapping giving him more time to get out of the way due to the fact he knew Naruto was coming.

**"Rasengan!" **The Kyubi influenced Naruto bellowed as he and the clone forced the sphere forward and onto the tree.

Performing a hand seal that consisted of him clasping both his hands together while intertwining his index and middle finger, while his thumb, ring, and pinky fingers were pointed outward and pressed together, Kibou whispered "Release" as he spun and leaped away from the tree, watching as red tendrils sprouted from behind it and was ripped apart by that Rasengan, thick pieces of wood being launched everywhere.

The blue sphere had slowly began to shrink, evaporating as the clone was the first to touch the ground, Naruto coming down beside it.

Just before Naruto was able to touch back down on the ground, Kibou brows knitted as he used his right hand and went into his pouch to pull out three shuriken held between his fingers, tossing them directly at Naruto. If it didn't seem like he noticed...he did. Naruto's facial appearance was a bit rougher, the corners of his nose wrinkled, in a snarl.

"Ah!" The red, Kyubi slit eyes of Naruto widened as the three shuriken soared at him. He couldn't move! He was still on his way to touch the ground. In the split second where he should've been impaled by the shuriken, he was yanked out of the way as the clone took his place.

The three shuriken had impaled it's chest, causing it to disperse.

Stumbling a bit, Naruto was able to regain his composer, becoming steady as he clinched his fist with brows furrowed at the stoic boy. **"I'm taking those bells now." **He informed, lifting his right hand and pointed to his right hip. "**This game is over. Once I take those, I'll be one step closer to becoming stronger."**

"To bring back Sasuke, huh?" Kibou asked, his expression showing he cared only little about the subject.

Naruto blinked at this boy knowing about it.

Kibou closed his eyes with a pensive appearance. "You and I...we have similar, but different goals." He said, Naruto remaining quiet as he spoke. "I've been able to proceed with mine because I've let go of what I held onto in the past and this have made me stronger."

Naruto growled, taking a single step forward.** "Are you telling me to forget about Sasuke?"** He asked, his tone rough.

"Precisely."

Naruto's teeth gritted tighter, his canines being shown. **"How dare you?"**

"You have to understand." Kibou attempted to calm the boy, his eyes opening to look back at the blond. In reality, he wasn't good consoling people and it was a lot harder for him to show compassion, but that was for another story. "I'm not declaring your want to bring the boy back to the village a crime...I'm just trying to say that it is holding you back."

**"Holding me back?"** Naruto looked down to his hand in silent thought, but he couldn't find the answer he was looking for. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.** "No. It not holding me back."**

"If that is what you want to think." His voice quiet, though not thoughtful for the first. "You are being weighted down by shackle that will prevent you from moving forward to this strength you seek...you must forget about him."

Naruto's eyes softened, his fist loosening.** "You...you just don't understand.**" He mumbled.

"I don't want to understand." Kibou said and sighed. "But you and I are siblings; both of us clanless orphans."

Naruto's brows knitted, the words catching him, hitting a certain button.** "What do you know about me?"** He asked, wanting a legitimate reply on the subject. **"I've been alone since the beginning because of this...this thing inside of me." **Words left his mouth, not even thinking anymore, this being obvious with his action. In actuality, he would never open up to someone he hardly knew, but it was just hapoening.** "Sasuke..." **His canines sharpened and the gaze in his eyes became more intense. **"No matter how much we disliked each other, there was still a strong connection between us...he IS my friend...almost like my brother and our bond couldn't just be broken by what happened." **After saying this, his fist tightened. **"He's my friend."**

Before he spoke, Kibou gave his next words great thought, wondering where it could lead this conversation and how could something else grow from it. He already had something on the back of his hand, but he questioned it before he even said it. It was not a lot of times that he took other people's feelings into consideration, but when he did, he wouldn't just spout no potentially hurtful things. "Naruto..." Being careful, he continued. "Sasuke left the village on his own accord...and if you wanted..." He trailed, Naruto expression never changing. "You know you could've went with him."

This caught Naruto by surprise...this being the first time it had ever popped into his head. He stood there, shocked, but was able to snap himseld from his stupor, shaking his head. "It doesn't work like that." He said. "We are shinobi of Konoha, and we must remain loyal to our home."

"I don't know the full details..." Kibou began as he lifted his right hand with a short shrug. "But ever since the Uchiha massacre...I don't think Sasuke ever thought of this as his home."

Both Naruto's fist clinched, his anger rising higher now.

"You are running a fool's errand...you will not reach Sasuke."

**"Don't you dare!**" Naruto yelled, throwing his right hand out to the side. **"Talk about Sasuke!**" And with that, he cleared the space between him and was lunging at Kibou as he cocked his right fist back.

Just before he had made his movement, Kibou had got back in his stance from before, wasting no time to launch at Naruto, his right fist cocked back. He was able to see Naruto's movement, noting they were now a lot faster and caused his eyes to focus more, just one slip and he would've got close to him without him being ready.

Both Naruto and Kibou sent their fist forward and at one another, the blond's face twisted in blatant and, while Kibou eyes were still stoic as they caught the fist in their left hand. They were face to face, staring into one another's eyes, Naruto growling. This wasn't even about the bell anymore...and, truthfully, his rage wouldn't care for it.

Though he was filled with absolute rage, he couldn't help but remember this from his and Sasuke fight.

Blinking, Kibou saw he had a upper hand due to Naruto being lost in what he thought was thought, he spun around in a counterclockwise fashion and lifted his left leg to bring around a reverse high kick.

Being snapped back into reality by the release of both their hands, Naruto saw the foot coming to his left jaw, this causing him to lean back as the foot just barely touched his nose.

Hoping he was a lot quicker than Naruto, he planted his left foot as he continued the spin and lifted his right leg to deliver a regular high kick.

Naruto lifted both his arms and used both his forearms to protect both sides of his face. Once the foot connected, it caused him to grind over to the right just a bit.

Retracting his foot, Kibou leaped with a small clockwise spin and sent a straight kick to Naruto stomach.

His speed being heightened by the Kyubi influence, Naruto was able to leap a foot back to dodge it, lifting both his hands in order to make his cross hand seal.

Planting his right leg back on the ground, watching as Naruto's hans lifted, Kibou lunged toward the blond threw up a powerful kick with his right leg in a diagonal fashion, which had effectively lifted him from the ground at about two feet in a counterclockwise spin.

Naruto was quick enough to lift his left arm, but it was knocked away from the strength the raven haired boy had put behind the kick.

Continuing the spin, Kibou dropped down a diagonally downward kick with his left leg, which brought him back to the ground.

Naruto brought up his right hand and the same event occurred, but this time, he took his chance and cocked his left fist back and sent it to Kibou.

Unable to steady himself from drop in time, the fist had connected with his face, the power behind it causing him to choke and be launched backwards. After about two second of flying, his back collided with a tree, his eyes squeezing close from the impact. This caused it to rattle, leaves falling, his eyes opening to see one directly in his field of vision.

**"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"**

Lowering his focus off the leaf, Kibou could eyes widened as he saw the original Naruto whip around a chain of link clones of himself, each linked together. It took him some time realize how long it was and how Naruto lifted his arms as the chain of clones followed as he slammed the back down.

**"Here we go!"**

Kibou head lifted and saw the chain of Naruto about to slammed down on top of him. Reacting quickly, he leaped and rolled to the right, flipping over as he slid with one hand to the ground. Manoeuvring his hand, he made the simple hand seal he made before and clapped his hands together. "Nejiton!" He began, now separating his hands as multiple layers of portal was left being, showing their sharp end to the raven haired boy. His left hand then began to trail around thevleft side of his body as the disc followed, rotating around his body until each reached around his right side and shot toward each clone.

**"Not so fast!" **Naruto yanked his arms upward and moved the linking of clone upward in order to out maneuver the flying disc. **"That Jutsu is useless!"**

"Pēpātoreiru(Paper Trails)..." Kibou said under his breath as string of chakra, that could on be seen by his eyes, became attached to his fingers. Maneuvering the strings, he brought them back, each portal, slicing through a single clone.

Lifting both his hands over his head, a single clone poofed into position over him, grabbing it's arms as he tossed it toward the red eyed boy.

The clone flipped over and aimed it's right leg out to Kibou head as it soared toward him.

Being him, using his eye ability, Kibou was able to dodge over to the right, catching the clone's leg in his left hand as it flew passed him. Straightening his right hand, lightning scattered around it as he pulled the clone back to him as it went horizontally to him. He glared into the eyes of the clone, slamming his right hand through it, causing it to disperse with a loud shout.

Suddenly, his senses were hit, HARD, and this made his head raise to a fist about to collide with his face. His eyes were as wide as saucers, watching as the fist inched closer to his nose, it about to impact his face hard. In his haste, he lowered his head as the fist collided with the metal plate of his headband. Once he began to feel the full force behind the punch, he felt his feet giving in on his as he began to slide back forcefully.

Naruto growled, his canines being shown, a snarl pretty much obvious at this time. He tightened his muscles and pushed forward, added more strength and force to the punch.

"Asa told me to hold back on you..." Kibou spoke, the anger never leaving his face, this being the most prominent feature. "And to tell the truth, I've been a fifty percent and I am surprised you have caught up with me..." He said, his hands lifting, grasping onto Naruto forearm as he began to remove his fist from his forehead.

Naruto blinked, his eyes widened in shock with a mixture of absolute disbelief.

"But..." Kibou kicked Naruto in his stomach, causing him to stumble back.

Regaining his composer, Naruto shook his head and looked back to the boy, but had to lean hurriedly to the left as a kick flew over his shoulder.

With his left leg over Naruto left shoulder, Kibou leaped off from his right foot, twisting his body clockwise and brought around his right leg, his full body off the ground.

Naruto lifted his right arm and dodged the back of Kibou calf, but this time it made his slide about five feet. Balancing himself as he slid, He turned to Kibou and leaped further back, performing his signature cross hand seal as two clone appeared at both his sides each.

They landed on the ground and dashed toward Kibou.

Landing with a stylish spin, sliding his right leg to the side, Kibou didn't give it much thought, dashing forward toward them, performing that hand seal he performed along with his Nejiton techniques. "Konohanasakuya." He said, the clones suddenly stopping in their spot, frozen as he just ran passed them.

**"What...?" **Naruto let out in pure confusion.

Left in Kibou's wake, all over each clones' body cut had appeared, causing them to disperse with a short yell.

Lifting both his arms, blocked a straight punch to his face with both, but behind the punch lingered some strenght that sent him flying back. Flipping, Naruto landed on the side of a tree and leaped off of it, skidding on the ground as both his and Kibou ran back to one another.

Simultaneously, the two Nin whipped a single kunai, both holding them in their right hand, both in reverse grip. They brought them up to their face and clashed, sparks flying as they pushed against one another.

Naruto continued to growled, his Kyubi influence producing this, the red chakra emanating from him as the power grew larger and larger due to his anger only increasing by the second. What he had said about Sasuke had angered him! How could he possibly understand how he felt!

Kibou equaled Naruto's force, his thoughts on the Nine Tailed beast inside of the boy. It had played a major part in the second half of this training session. The being made Naruto strong, and he knee this because he could practically feel the fist from the strike he had landed in his face.

Synchronously, both Nin put more strength into the struggle, the metal of the kunai giving up as they sliced perfectly through one another, which launched their fist forward, letting them punch one another square in the nose as they were shot away from one another.

Skillfully, Kibou, as he soared back, back flipped and put his hand to the ground a he flipped to his feet.

Naruto skidded backwards, stumbling just a bit until he was able to steady himself.

The two stood away from one another at about twenty feet, just staring each other down, Naruto eyes filled with rage, while Kibou eyed Naruto with his usually catatonic stare.

The wind blew softly, the moon in the sky coming into view from behind a large sweeping.

Lifting their hands, Naruto performed the cross hand seal, summoning a clone, while Kibou lifted his right hand to his stomach area, his palm aimed upward. While the blond lifted his right hand to the side as the clone placed his hands over it, Kibou hovered his left hand over his right hand. From the area in the space between his and the clone's hand, red tendrils swirled around in the opened space around, while lightning had erupted around Kibou arms. A speck was then seen in the space in Naruto had as a blue chakra sphere was formed, the lightning swirled into the space between Kibou's hands a the sphere with various colors of blue had formed, the core violet.

Naruto's Rasengan had formed to it's perfect sized and Kibou's Ranikari formed it's perfect golf ball shape. As the clone poofed away, the two held their spheres out to their side, ready to pounce on one another.

"That's enough of this."

The somber tone rang into both their ears as a hand rested on Naruto's left shoulder, a hand also finding it's way on Kibou's shoulder, which prompt the Rasengan to shrink down and disappear and the Ranikari to combust as lightning scattered around his hand. The two nin looked over their shoulder: Naruto was greeted by the face of the taller Jiraiya, while Kibou was faced with a smiling Asa, her brown eyes locked onto him.

"Yeah...you two are a pretty destructive force together." Asa said, patting the head of the raven haired boy. "Another clash like before and you may have flattened the training field."

With indifference, Kibou hummed, relaxing as the detail in his eyes had shrunk back down into his usual dotted pupil. She may have exaggerated a little, but when didn't most people?

Jiraiya eyed Naruto, a bit worried. His features were stoned, digging deep into his eyes, noticing that he was influenced by the Kyubi chakra, but was in full control. He didn't know what to think at this moment. Naruto had grow a lot stronger, but he could the distance between his training he gave Naruto and the augmented abilities granted by the Kyubi chakra. Earlier, barely Naruto and Sakura could keep up with Kibou, but with the Kyubi chakra he was able to go head to head with the boy. Naruto had never missed a beat when going up against the Heiwagan, and was able to hold his own. But this where he was left wondering: what did it mean that Naruto could barely keep with Kibou when his Dojutsu wasn't activated, but they seemed to evenly match with it active. It wasn't that Naruto had speed over Kibou, because the boy was reading his movement like a book.

**"Hey, Pervy-sage!"**

When he thought clearly on it, it only made his brain try to go deeper into the fight, wondering if he had missed anything important, and that he did. Now that he thought about it, Naruto was silently planning through the whole fight, which is strange now that he thought about it. Maybe he was stretching it a bit, but if one would replay it, they could see that Naruto relied on mere and slight distraction to get close to him. Maybe he was wrong, and it was just luck. Hopefully, the Jitsugetsu wasn't holding back.

"Hey, Pervert!"

Now this yell had snapped the white haired man back into reality, his head shifting around, seeing Asa Kai approaching him with a hand on her hip, Kibou walking behind her. "What...what can I do for you, dear?" He asked seductively as he raised his brow at the woman, causing her eyes to narrow at him.

"Be quiet, Pervert, and listen to your student." Asa said and pointed to the blond beside the man.

Jiraiya a few time and remembered Naruto was there with his, his attention being drawn to the younger boy, his eyes still as red as a Jitsugetsu. "What is it, Naruto?"

"Pervy-sage...I still haven't gotten the bells..." Naruto complained, though his rage induced features didn't match how he would usually sound. "Why are you two stopping it?"

"Because you've proven yourself, Naruto." Tsunade spoke as she and the others emerged from the darkness around.

**"What?**" Naruto raised a brow, eyeing Tsunade, Sakura, Kakashi, Tenten, and Shizune.** "I don't und**erstand." He finished, though his blood red eyes faded back to his usual ocean blue and his features becoming softer in the middle of his sentence.

"Naruto, you were able to go head to head with a Jonin..." Shizune pointed out, smiling to the blond haired boy.

"And you were alone." Tenten added, her eyes closed, nodded with her fist on her hip.

"Bells or no bells...you have proven yourself." Tsunade repeated, her stern look on her face.

"What're you talking about, Baa-chan?" Naruto asked, really confused. "You keep saying I 'PROVED' myself...what's going to happen?"

"Narutooo..." Shizune called out to the boy. " We've been discussing your status as of late in for the future ahead of you." Her eyes shifted to the right to look over her shoulder, passed Sakura and to Kakashi. "Anything to say about her?"

"She was...able to get the bell..." The Jonin spoke, discouraged to what had occurred in Naruto absence.

Naruto looked surprised as his vision went to his pink haired teammate. "Wait..." He paused, pointing a limp finger at her. "You were able to get the bell from Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yep." The chipper pinkette held up the bell she had obtained from with all it's glory. "Your plan worked."

'Plan?' Jiraiya spoke inwardly, eyeing the blond out the corner of his eyes. 'Maybe he WAS strategizing during his fight with the Jitsugetsu.' He thought, wondering if he close by any chance.

"Wait, you were the one who came up with that?" Kakashi asked, his single eye watching the boy.

"Oh, yeah." Naruto held up the victory V with his classic foxy grin. "How'd you like it?"

Kakashi's eyes dulled as he asked this, staring at the boy before he slumped over with a groan in defeat.

Tsunade turned her attention to the right of Naruto and to the original red eyed boy. "Do you have anything to say about him?"

Kibou simply shook his head, catching the eye of Naruto.

"Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Uh...Yeah?" Naruto eyes went back to Tsunade, his face confused.

"Speak up, boy; announce yourself!" Tsunade pursued. "Naruto Uzumaki!" She called out once more.

The blond straightened like a soldier. "Yes, Ma'am?"

Her eyes shifted over to the right to eye Sakura. "Sakura Haruno!"

"Yes, Milady?"

Her eyes shifted once more, but to Kibou. "Kibou Jitsugetsu!"

The dark skin boy nodded.

The female Hokage looked them over and nodded to herself, finding this as the right thing to do. "You three now are officially a Team." She said, eyeing them, watching as Naruto eyes widened. "Along with Kakashi, you will be the refurbished Team 7; otherwise known as Team Kakashi."

"New Team 7?" Sakura sounded excited, hiding her memory if Sasuke in the back of her head.

"That sounds..." Naruto thought about his next words, which was weird for him. "Fine..."

"So, what does this mean?" Kibou spoke up, catching everyone's attention, and this went more for Tenten, the weapon master eyeing the boy with slight admiration. His nonchalant attitude still had yet to change, but it had seemed like he had change since the last time they interacted with one another. Maybe what Asa had told her was true.

"It means we'll be going on all of our missions together...and as peers." Kakashi said, causing Sakura and Naruto to blink. "Out of you three, Kibou has been a peer to me the longest and we never had the 'Sensei-Student' relationship." He explained. "Do you read me, you two?"

"Of course, Kakashi." Naruto smirked, taking advantage of it. "Loud and clear." He said and turned to look at Kibou, the smirk leaving his face as itvwas replaced by all seriousness.

Kibou saw this out his peripheral and turned to Naruto, his eyes remaining stoic.

"Next time..." Naruto pointed to the bell on his hip. "We will settle this."

**Chapter End**

Aaand there it is! This chapter took me so long. At first, I had a friend writing this chapter for me, because I didn't have time to do it, but when I read it over...how do I explain this...? Um...when he do OC centric things, he tends to focus mainly on the OC. Yes, I know it is a OC Centric fic, but I like to insert Kibou where he belong and treat him like a Naruto character. He will grow and still have things to display, but I don't want him stomping everyone out already. He IS a Jonin, yes, but I didn't want him too strong just yet. If I want to be truthful, I have to say...at his full strength, with the Heiwagan active, he's stronger, or on par with -Beep-

and until next time, I love you all. Yeah!


	13. Canceled Dates and A False Child

Oh, damn this was fast! I pretty much just finished the other chapter in such a long amount of time due to a friend of mine, I had decided to get through some of the Kazekage arc with this next chapter. I actually wanted to skip this arc, but this will have key points to how the new Team 7 acts around one another, and also a introduction to a Naruto FAN favorite. And I think I had him in character too.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that pertains to Naruto in anyway.

**Naruto Shippuden: The Route to Enlightenment**

**Start**

Okay!

Was it finally her time? Was it her chance to ask him if it was okay? She was so anxious at the moment, though she did her best from showing it on her face...but it was really hard. As a shinobi, the most natural thing to her was the burying of her own emotions, yet she was still a teenager, and when she was happy, she would usually show it, so god onlay knew how she was doing on the outside. She could only imagine how twisted her face was at the moment. It was already know to her that she was a nervous wreck when the subject ended with him and her, it being a sensitive issue when it came to just her. As it was, the female heart was a very delicate place to begin with and it could hardly take much. Luckily, she was still okay with him not noticing her too much. They were still in the trail period and they were still practically new to one another.

_"You will figure out why you were drawn to him."_

Those words were still fresh in her head. Maybe she should try it the way Tsunade had told her about. Retract some of those feelings she had for him and learn to bond with the red eyed individual before they were actually together...if that ever happened, right? She had faith in her infatuation...no...it wasn't an infatuation anymore; it was a simple interest. That's how most relationships grew: she had to get to know him better, because, currently, all she knew about him, besides that he "had" a unknown "Dojutsu", was that he and Asa were not related, and she was not a good person to confide in if it came to Kibou. Asa knew how to work better with Kibou, but she was still as clueless as she was when it came to understanding him. Perhaps she was stretching it...? When push came to shove, he was an enigma and cracking through his layers would take great time. Chopping off the fact that he was secretive and barely spoke about himself made her realize time would be extended.

But she could wait.

Patience is virtue, right?

She would follow what Tsunade had told her and do this accordingly. It was pretty obvious that Kibou had less compassion than a rock, and it would take time to develop. At the moment, what her guess was, he was only interested in one thing and that was the retired Anbu Captain, Asa. This was clear to everyone, though It was blind to the eyes of the woman.

This was a bit farfetched, but maybe she could learn about Kibou's more passionate side, because she remembered what Asa had relayed to her and how he treated her sleeping form. She said he was delicate with her and treated her body with grace...

At remembering this, her cheeks began to warm, her eyes widening greatly as she shook her head, attempting to rid her face of it. 'It's not nothing special...' She told herself, hanging her head. 'He'd do that for anyone, right?'

"Are you alright?"

She jumped, those words knocking her from her thoughts and back into reality, seeing Kibou walking beside her, watching her every movement. What was he thinking? His face was as blank as ever and his eyes released not a sense of emotion from them. This was very hard!

"You seem to be a bit off."

Her eyes widened once more as she turned her head to the right in the direction he was not in. She hadn't known she was just staring at him like that.

Kibou tilted his head to the side in honest bewilderment, sending the girl an asking look.

Was it really this hard? When Tsunade told her about her feelings for Kibou and how she should approach it, she never imagined it would possibly be this frustrating. How would she approach?

When everything started off, she never understood why she had that infatuation to him, and maybe it WAS because of his looks, but right now, she would rather KNOW him before she was answer to her feelings for him and let them develop from there.

So...as of now...her feelings for him didn't exist... even if he could make blush like a schoolgirl.

Closing her eyes, she cleared her throat, going over what she said to herself, wanting to embed this code into her head and be sure what she would be doing for now on. "I'm alright." She turned back to the boy, her eyes staying closed as a smile was spread across her face, hiding her previous contemplation.

"What were you thinking about?" Kibou asked, his tone simple.

Her smile cracked, though her eyes were still closed. 'EH?' She let out inwardly, her brow twitching. First Tsunade, and now Kibou!? How bad was she at lying? Letting out a halfhearted chuckle, she did her best to ameliorate her smile, wanting to hide away any false assurance. "No. seriously. I'm fine." She reassured.

Kibou blinked, but nodded.

Wanting to keep the conversation going, she dove deeper and continued. "Thank you for worrying."

Kibou shook his head as he looked forward. "It's nothing." He said. "I count you as someone that can be trusted."

'As someone that can be trusted...?' She asked herself. Score one to her, right? That told her a bit about how he saw her. "Same goes for you." She informed. "You ARE a Jonin of Konoha, so expect this from a lot."

"I kinda got this talk from Asa." Kibou said, causing her to look at him. "Remember, she is qualified to still be Anbu Captain, so expect as much from her."

"Right..." She nodded, her memory coming back to her. That woman had been a Captain alongside Kakashi, from what Guy-sensei had told her, and retired after her parents were presumed to be killed. "I nearly forgot."

"These sorts of things are to some." Kibou said.

"Why's that?" She asked.

"I don't know." He responded. "My guess is as good as any."

"And what's your guess?" She pursued, honestly intrigued. This wasn't her top ten conversations she could have with him, but this was better than nothing. Hopefully, it would give her a bit of insight.

"What...?"

"You said that those sorts of thing are usually forgot by some." She repeated, watching him. "You should have some facts on this, am I right?"

Kibou stayed quiet.

"You are as smart as Shikamaru, and, luckily, you aren't as lazy as him." She sighed softly, her eyes lowering, her eyes drifting away for a few second and then shifting back to the boy. "And I've seen you nose deep in anything you can read, so tell me your guess...or your opinion."

"My opinion...?" Kibou repeated, his eyes lowering as his eyes went forward. "Um...well..."

"There is no wrong answers, Ki-chan." She said, smiling to him as they walked. "I don't know myself, so just throw something at me."

"I think..." Kibou hummed to himself. "...the reason why most people forget certain things is because some things aren't important to them or just don't pertain to them in anyway." He explained, tapping his forehead. "You know that place in your brain that helps you remember thing?"

She just blinked.

"Well...if I remember, it is called the...hippocampus and this is used to help you remember things that happen in your life." He explained, taking her nod as a question to go on. "Though, when it come to certain people, it is less...focusend and this prevents them from keeping track of other's lives."

She hummed as she looked forward, her head tilting over to the left as her eyes shifted to the corner to look at him. "Does this goes the same for you?" She inquired.

"Not really." Kibou answered with no time wasted.

"Huh?" She blinked, her mouth opened. "You sound pretty sure about yourself."

"If not me, then who?" He said, giving her no time to answer as he continued. "Plus, I maintain myself to the point where remembering something to the most trivial length is still in the front of my head."

"What? Are we back in the Academy, or somethin'?"

The pair turned their attention forward to see that Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi had stopped and was looking at them. They were halted in their tracks just a few feet away from them.

Kibou had recognized the as Naruto's and spoke up. "I was just informing Tenten of-"

Interrupting him, Naruto groaned loudly, holding his hands behind his head with his eyes closed.

This stopped the ruby eyed individual, causing him to blink at the disrespect, but he was going to have to get use to it.

"Sounds boring." Naruto said, pouting.

WHAM!

"QUIT BEING RUDE, IDIOT!"

Naruto grimaced, buckling as he held the top of his head after Sakura had punched a knot onto it. "Sakuraaaa!"

Kibou and Tenten's eyes slowly lifted at the scene, Kakashi ignoring them as he read through his Icha Icha book.

"Sorry, Kibou..." Sakura apologize for Naruto as she held her hands in front of apron, her eyes closed. "You know how he is."

Kibou shook his head with his eyes closed. "Don't apologize for him." He said, openring them to look at the pink haired herculean. "I can und-"

*Groooowl*

"NARUUUUUTOOOOO!" Sakura raised her fist once to pound Naruto in the head.

Naruto flinched, lifting his hands over his head just before Sakura could punch him. "That wasn't me, Sakura." He halted.

"Then what was it?" Sakura asked through gritted teeth, her brows furrowed.

Naruto stood up straight, but slouched over a bit to hold his stomach, frowning. "Guess all that fighting worked up an appetite." He grinned, only one place coming to mind.

"Now that you mention it..." Sakura held her stomach also. "I think I could get something to eat after the training."

Naruto threw his hand into the air, grinning madly. "Don't have to tell me twice!" The ocean eyed boy exclaimed. "Next stop," He began as he jogged away from everyone. "Ichiraku ramen!"

"Wait!" Sakura called after him, following the boy's trail. "I'm coming too, Naruto!"

Kakashi watched the two out the corner of his eye, shifting it back to Kibou, acknowledging Tenten at his side. "Have you decided yet?" He asked, the simple words meaning a lot more than how they came from his dry tone.

His head nodded, Kibou locking eyes with the taller Jonin. "I have..." He said, his eyes closing, the smallest of smirks appearing on his face. "I may as well give it a try."

As they spoke, Tenten eyes shifted between them, not a clue on what they were speaking of.

"You sure?" Kakashi raised a brow.

Kibou nodded, his eyes cracking open, though they were closed just a bit, revealing a small portion of the red in his eyes. "With my current hypothesis... I can see myself overcoming him..." He explained. "I've become a lot stronger along with the teachings of Asa, and, honestly...I think I can do this...and being here...with all you..." A actual, barely visible smile slid across the face of the dark skin boy, both Kakashi and Tenten noticing this. "I think I can become stronger."

Kakashi drew a keen eye at the boy, humming as Tenten watched the boy out the corner of her eyes.

"But I still need her." Kibou told himself, looking down to the palm of his hand. After a few seconds of staring at it, his hand clinched tightly into a fist. "There is still something I need to figure out that I am still not sure about."

Letting Kibou think, Tenten took this time to intervene in their conversation, not having the slightest clue of what the were speaking on. "Um, I'm pretty lost..." She said, signaling that she was still in the area, grabbing both of their attention. "Can any of you shed some light on this for me?"

Kibou's eyes shifted to the right and at the hazel eyed girl. "It's nothing, Tenten."

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!"

The group of three lookend up, while the grey haired Jonin turned his head to the left to see both Naruto and Sakura waving at them.

"We're heading to Ichiraku, and guess who's paying!" The two yelled out to the man.

Kakashi turned fully in their direction and gave them a short wave with his single eye closed. "Sorry guys, but I have to go file a unit dossier for our new team." He said as the two saddened a bit. "Maybe Tenten and Kibou would like to accompany you two." Lifting a hand in front of his face, he made the single hand seal. "See you soon." And with that, the man proofed away in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto simply grumbled at this while Sakura thought, 'Maybe I should go along to make sure he isn't a third wheel'.

Thinking this situation through, noticing it would only be him, Sakura, Tenten, and that Jitsugetsu guy, Naruto had perked up a bit, a mischievous smile on his face, poking his fingers together. "Hey, Sakura..." He began, grabbing the pink haired girl. "If you think about it, this could be counted as a date."

"A DOUBLE date." She corrected with a small smirk, walking off in the direction of Ichiraku Ramen, being sure that Kibou didn't hear her. "And you're paying."

Naruto blinked a few times, lifting his froggy wallet, opening it to see less ryo than it would take to pay for some Ichiraku Ramen. "Um..." He hadn't been on an actual mission in three years, aside from those little inconveniences from his training trip with Jiraiya...and he didn't get paid for them, so he was low on funds until his next mission. A groan was let out from his mouth, knocking down a large knot in his throat, but he hummed when a hand was placed on his shoulder, raising his eyes to see Kibou with his catatonic look.

"Don't worry," Kibou said, nodding to Naruto as he walked off in the same path as Sakura, waving back at the boy. "I'll cover it."

As he departed from them, Naruto only held a distasteful look on his face, but his stomach growled, which prompted him to moan in angst. "Maybe a bowl or nine."

"And don't hold back either..." Tenten said, walking passed, smiling to Naruto, the boy humming. "He probably has the most money out of all of us, because of his rank." She he a single finger up to her mouth with a wink. "Shhhh..." Giving him as the indication to keep quiet, she walked off and followed Kibou. She had remembered his love for ramen, and Kibou would probably be happy to let him devour some.

Smiling once more, Naruto's eyes brightened, showing his foxy grin. "Or ninety." And with that, he ran to catch up with them. At the back of his mind, something was nagging at him, but it was being drownend out by the thoughts of ran.

**(Elsewhere)**

**(An Hour Earlier)**

"It's reacting to you irrationally."

Deep in Kusagakure, down within an underground hideout, a man was set up in a bed, his back pressed back up on the wall. In front of another man, unwrapping white bandages from around the other man's eyes. The square room was being lit by a single wall candle, showing the circular details in the wall, that closely resembled snakes and the orange color.

"This will be the one hundred and fiftieth attempt, Orochimaru-dono, are you sure you to continue after this?" The male asked. He was a fair skinned guy with silver hair tied back in a ponytail with round glasses over his eyes. As he unwrapped the bandages from around the eyes of the pale skinned, his eyes showed concern, scanning over the blackened veins sprouting from under the bandages and down the sides of his face.

"Y-yes...Kabuto..." The very pale man spoke, his voice stammered and strained.

"Orochimaru-dono," Kabuto spoke up, wanting to voice his concern for the Snake Sannin, and that's what he would do. "These test are very risky to your chakra network, and, most importantly, your health, so I'd advise you to steer away from them."

"Do I have to reiterate the significance of having both the Sharingan and the Heiwagan in my disposal?" Orochimaru inquired.

"No, Orochimaru-dono." Kabuto silenced as he finished removing the wrapping from the man's eyes, showing the purple eye paint and his closed eyes. With the bandages removed, he could see the black veins connecting around his eyes. "But these test...it is vital that we stop them while you CAN aspire to gaining the Sharingan."

"Do you dare question me, Kabuto?"

"No, Orochimaru-dono." Kabuto said hoarsely, placing the bandages on a end table next to the bed, it having a jar filled a liquid and two floating spherical objects. "I must inform you that the Heiwagan is becoming gradually unstable to your body."

"That is because of the blood of those Jitsugetsu we have back at the Southern Hideout has begun to lose their potential after these years." He said.

"And, like it or not, Orochimaru-dono, we are on our last eyes, so I don't know what we are to do after this." Kabuto relayed to the man.

Not much thought came to his mind after hearing what his subordinate had told his, his goal just right in his grasp and his thirst for power fueling this onward reach to his objective. "Then we will capture the last two that are still living..." He said, groaning, pain rising from his eyes as he clasped a hand over them.

"How?" Kabuto questioned, leaning in to help Orochimaru sit up straight. "We were never able to locate the bodies of both the clan's head and his wife, so it could be a chance that it's them and they were fabled to wield the perfect Rinnegan, so it would be a chore to bring them back."

"Yes, I have heard of the tale." Orochimaru said, removing his hand from his eyes, opening them to show his red irises with a dotted pupil. As if on que, the round objects in the glass jar spun around, being identified as eyeballs with golden irises and slitted pupils. The screla of the eyes were cracked with stressful black veins. "But I have heard that it is some brat within Konoha and the other one is that woman."

"But..." Kabuto thought about it. "Haven't we tested her eye on you?"

"Yes." Orochimaru nodded. "The next logical choice is that boy."

"What do you want me to do about it, Orochimaru-dono?"

"Nothing as of now." Orochimaru said in all honesty. "Just remove these eyes from me."

Kabuto nodded. "Of course, Orochimaru-dono."

**(Outskirts of Kusagakure)**

**(Same Time)**

"Argh!"

Then the last one dropped.

His face showed no emotion for the men he just slaughtered mercilessly.

He wouldn't repent for what he did, yet, he would praise himself for what he did, stepping closer and closer to his goal at hand.

He stood there, slowly sheathing his blade, the smooth steel making a soft screeching noise. It was a young male in his mid teens with dark hair that greatly resembled a duck butt, his eyes a matching color.

Around him was a mass of body, men wearing face mask, headbands with the metal plate having the symbol of Mist across it.

It didn't matter what village they were from.

Wherever Orochimaru would point for the time being, he would be there to wipe up the pieces of whoever threatened to interrupt his process of becoming stronger to face off against HIM. They had been sent to recover information that Orochimaru may have had his hands on, but he never dove too deep in what the Snake Sannin did as a pastime when he wasn't around. All he could think of was power, this thirst only having one source that could quench it.

The death of Itachi Uchiha.

The man who had slaughtered his clan in the same fashion as how he did the Mist nin.

It came natural to him now.

All those who weren't Uchiha meant little to him and was trash in his eyes. No time could be wasted on the little people that would only steer him away from his goal.

With these thoughts going through his head, a image of Naruto , the rest of the Konoha 11, and the village had popped into his head.

If he would've stayed, there was no way he could've become this strong, and obtained the power to avenge his clan.

Getting a swift kick to his senses, the boy used his right hand, pulling the sword from the sheath, flipping it around as he spun to aim the blade out at the unknown assailant that had been approaching his rear.

"Ah!"

He heard this feminine gasp in his ears, his eyes locking onto the slitted holes of a plain white mask that was known to be wore by hunter nin, but the village insignia was lost to him. The design was of a circular formation with a crescent moon shape attached to both sides, both pointing outward. By the look of her body shape, though it was being hid by an altered white kimono with short sleeves and a black obi that stopped the dress just below the individual hips, he could tell that it was a woman, the fishnet armor that covered her whole lower body and arm hiding her skin color.

"Were you trying to kill me?" The woman asked, the distraught his her voice making her out to be the innocent one.

The blade was mere inches from her neck, and with the boy being a bit shorter than her, it was aimed at her collar bone.

The pale boy simply remained quiet, his glare deepening. Growing suspicious about the six magatama pattern around her collar.

"Well, I guess I was the one that approached you." She gave a short chuckle as she raised her hand to shift the blade away from her direction, but the boy tightened his grip on it, which told her he was almost at a firm decision of cutting her down in the instant she would a make a false move. Wanting to keep the boy calm, she lowered her hand, smiling to him from behind her mask. "You're Sasuke Uchiha, I presume?"

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" He asked, steering away from her question.

The woman noticed this, but paid no mind. "You may call me Niseko, but my last name isn't of importance." She said to the young Uchiha.

"And why are you here?"

"Because I have business with Orochimaru-sama."

'She knows Orochimaru...' Sasuke's spoke inwardly, never refraining from giving the woman the stink eye. He couldn't be too sure about this though. Just because she said she knew him didn't mean he could lead her back to the hideout without a fight. "How can I trust that you will not attempt to assassinate him?"

"Awe..." Behind the mask, the woman blushed, sparkles in her eyes. "It brings a tear to my eye to see that you value your master this much."

As she said this, the sword had pressed against her throat to show Sasuke's agitation.

Sasuke huffed. "He is in no way, shape or form my 'master'." He said, soullessly, causing the woman to blink. "He is only a means to obtaining more power, and with him alive, I have a better chance at that, so I will not have him dying before that."

'Whoa...' Niseko paused, eyeing the young man. 'He REALLY hate Itachi.'

"Now, to gain absolute trust, I will need you to remove your mask and give me your FULL name, so that I know there is nothing you are hiding from me."

Niseko began lifting her right hand to her face, smirking at how the boy conducted his meeting. By the looks of it, he had been trained well under Orochimaru: he left little space between the two of them so that distancing herself from him would probably lead to a sword in her if he spotted one false move. "Pretty thorough, huh?"

Sasuke remained silent as she said this.

Placing her hand on the mask, she lifted it upward, revealing that it was a overhead mask, pure white hair dropping down to her shoulders all around as a long ponytail sprung out at the back of her head.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes once he was able to see her face, taking not of her pale skin that matched his perfectly, her bangs random as they his her brows. She had delicate feature and wore a necklace that matched the insignia that was on her mask, her left eye being sharp and blood red, while the right one was his by a white eye patch, but he could see an aged scar that stretched from her cheek and under her patch.

"Niseko Jitsugetsu." The woman said and smiled at the boy.

Sasuke glared at her a lot more, becoming uncomfortable as he eyed the patch over her eye. It was a slight mixture of interest and wariness that prompted him to ask "What's under that" as he pointed to her patch with the sword.

"Nothing." The woman shook her head.

"Then I will not take you back to him."

"But you must." She pleaded.

"Then show me what you have under that."

"It's nothing." She repeated.

Sasuke's brows furrowed. "What are you hiding!?" He was beginning to grow impatient.

Growing irritated fast, the woman shifted the patch over to her left eye coverring that instead as she showed what was under the patch.

What Sasuke saw surprised him...it almost made him sick. Things ran through his mind on what to actually think of what he was seeing, but the little thing that he could do was turn his back on her to avoid eye contact. His eyes closed, showing little emotion as he sheathed the blade.

"Told you it was nothing." She said, placing her patch back in the position to hide it.

"Shut up."

**(Orochimaru's Kusagakure Hideout)**

**(Present)**

Finishing the wrapping of the white bandages, Kabuto let out a soft breath as he closed his eyes, placing his hands on operating table. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he stared down to the floor. Blood was present on his hands and across the top of the table. He panted, unsure. These test to gain the Heiwagan was beginning to become more detrimental to the body of Orochimaru, and could call for some fatal results in the end. If Orochimaru pursued with these test, his guess was as good as anyone's as to what could happen, and this is what he feared.

Much like Sasuke, Orochimaru had a thirst for power, and he wouldn't quit until he mastered each and every technique that was known to man.

And it all started with the Heiwagan.

When the dream of obtaining both the Sharingan and the Heiwagan came into play, he could barely sleep at night with the thought of going further and ascending higher, above both Dojutsu.

Lifting up, he channeled chakra to his hands as he hovered them over the eyes of the sedated man. His hands were coated with a green chakra aura, signaling that he had began to heal the man.

How much was left in Orochimaru?

Wasn't he growing tired of this same routine every other week? He would continue to see the same results until he could honestly say he had acquired the Heiwagan.

*Knock, Knock*

His eyes cocked to the left of the room, hearing the knock at the door. Though he had obviously heard the knock, he remained quiet. The only person that could be found in this place was Sasuke, and he should have just been getting back after his little...'mission'. But Sasuke never chose bother them. He usually did solo training until Orochimaru was ready, so this was strange.

"Hurry and open the door!"

Kabuto let out a silent "Oh", the familiar irritated voice ringing in his ear. Okay. That made a lot more sense. He stopped the healing process and made his way to the door, opening it as it revealed a white haired woman on the outside. "Wasn't expecting you today."

Niseko eyed they man, her arms crossed over her small chest. She saw the hand that wasn't on the knob and realized the blood that covered it. Her eyes drifted forward and passed the silver haired male, seeing the body laying on the table and it made her blood boil, but she kept it under control and looked back to Kabuto. "Well, you know..." She pushed herself passed the man and walked into the room. "The emptiness in my eye brought me back."

Kabuto huffed, hearing the sour tone the woman had took with him. Closing the door as he turned to her, he shrugged, shaking his head back and forth. "You ARE the one who keeps finding us." He said as he walked back to the table to finish healing eye bandaged man. "Aren't you trying to kill us or something and how do you keep finding our hideouts?"

Standing at the head of the operating table, the woman kept her arms crossed as she looked down at the sedated man, a sour taste in her mouth. "With time around, not having both of my eyes..." She pointed to the patch. "I was only able to locate those who have been in the same vicinity as you scum."

"So, you used Sasuke, huh?" Kabuto asked, a eye cutting to her.

"Yeah." Niseko nodded. "I told him that I had business with Orochimaru."

"And he just brought you here?"

"After a few questions. Yeah."

Kabuto sighed. "So, he had no idea you were the enemy."

"He had suspicions, but I was able to convince him otherwise." She said, silently applauding her own skill. "But right now, I need information from Orochimaru, so wake him."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Kabuto informed, shaking his head with his eyes closed. "Remember, you ARE trying to kill us."

"But not just yet, so I'll give you time to prepare again." A smile was on her face, though last she remember trying to kill them, it didn't go over to well. "You two are the main course..."

"And I guess Danzo and his men are the appetizers."

Hearing the voice of the sneaky Sannin, her eyes darted downward, though she was calm and she would stay that way.

The thought sedated Orochimaru smirked, relenting from moving too much due to the pain in his eyes. He chuckled a bit. "How long has it been, Niseko?" He said in his slimy voice.

"I dunno..." She spoke in a thoughtful tone, tapping her chin as she looked at the ceiling. "About three years since you took my eye...probably."

Chuckling hoarsely, the pale man smirked. "Don't live in the past." He told her, everything black due to the bandages over his eyes. "But what can we do for you?"

Tightening her arms around herself, she frowned. "It's Danzō Shimura."

"What about him?" Orochimaru asked.

"Mission not going to well?" Kabuto inquired, venom leaking in each of his words.

"Quiet, lackey." Niseko sent him the stink eye and looked back down to Orochimaru. She fidgeted a bit, clearing her throat and spoke. "But it is becoming a lot more difficult to locate him."

"Is that so...?"

Niseko nodded. "I need more information on him." She said, closing her eyes. "If I want to get closer to him with my clone within Konoha, I will need something heavy enough to get me in."

Orochimaru hummed, mentally licking his teeth with his tongue. "You know..." He paused, shifting his hands onto the table as he began to carefully push himself up, grunting roughly as he did this.

"Orochimaru-dono!" Kabuto expressed concern, helping the Sannin sit up.

As he steadied himself upright, Orochimaru looked over to the right with his bandaged eyes. "If I give you this sort of details, it could cause a problem for me." He said, making the woman raise a brow. "And we are enemies, so giving you this sort of information wouldn't go under well if I didn't get anything in return."

Niseko noticed his sly attitude, her brows knitting, sending the man an asking look. "And what would that be?"

Laughter was heard and it came from the mouth of Orochimaru and it made Niseko shiver. "It's funny you ask..." He said, receiving a glare from her. "You said that you currently have a spy in the village for you...?"

Niseko nodded. "A clone, yes."

"It has come to my knowledge that the body of Koichi Jitsugetsu has been stolen-"

"By the Akatsuki...I know."

Orochimaru hummed. "As you SHOULD now, Koichi's eyes were the next to be tested, but due to certain circumstances, we cannot, but word has gotten out that a new Jitsugetsu...alive and well, have been located within Konoha."

At him saying this, Niseko tensed.

"His name is Kibou, and he is our next prize." Kabuto put a hand on his hip, pushing his glasses up on his face. "What makes him different from the rest... and you, is that he is young with more potent chakra, so Orochimaru should be able to use his eyes with ease."

Niseko stared at Kabuto, her mind deep within thought. Bring in Kibou...? She couldn't just bring the boy in to have his eyes stolen. Her venture to this place wasn't for her to be branded as a person who sale out her own clan brethren to some power crazed Sannin. But in the end...she nodded. He WAS too young to even understand her current mission, and there was no way he could possibly take he spot in what she was doing if she declined and they killed her here on the spot. "I'll do it, but I will need this information on Danzō."

"Of course, of course." Kabuto showed his sneaky. "Just bring the boy here."

Leaned up against door on the other, Sasuke had his arms crosses, listening to them. So that woman had tricked him into believing that she wasn't an enemy? Keeping his cool composer, he slowly closed his eyes, a smirk crossing his face. 'You can wait, Itachi...' He thought. 'She dies before you.'

**(Break)**

**(Konoha- Ten minutes later)**

A groan swept through air as Naruto slouched over, a depressed aura radiating from his person. "How could she do this?" He asked himself, not acknowledging the male standing next to him. "How could she just cancel on me like that when I was so close to getting in good with her?"

Kibou stood there next to him, his hand on his hip with a sweat drop coming down his face, this moment a lot more awkward than he would want it to be. "Um...Naruto..."

"I was right there...I was soooooo close to making her become my girl friend." Naruto moped, his head hung.

"Naruto..." Kibou went to pack his back, but retreated, knowing the relationship he had with Naruto wasn't too deep. Doing the opposite as to touching, he spoke a few words of encouragement. "You know you still will have a lot more chances than this ONE, right?"

He wasn't in too much of a rush to stand up straight, but when he was upright, he looked over to his right and at the boy with a sly look. "Have you forgotten: Tenten canceled on you too."

"Tenten is a friend."

"Hm?" Naruto raised a brow. "You two look more like a couple."

Kibou shook his head. "We are only friends and she is her own person, so she can cancel all she wants."

Naruto eyes were wide as he watched the boy, blinking. "Wow, you're good with rejection."

Kibou only stayed silent, turning his head forward to look at the shop in front of them. He didn't know if Naruto want blatantly ignoring his words or if he was just completely stupid like Sakura. In the end he went with both.

**End**

And there you all go. I honestly wanted to make this a lot longer, but work and whatnot has been cutting into my sleep, so I'm leaving y'all with this.


	14. Past Arc: Teleportation Masters

So, a friend of mine has been reading the story and she has been writing researching the Naruto Universe so that she could do a little something. See, she had an idea to where she didn't want me wreaking my brain with a precursor to the Naruto series and to how thing came into place, so she wrote this a few days ago, but everything isn't complete. Every few chapters of "The Route to Enlightenment" more and more of the back story will be revealed. Hopefully, they will not be too long.

**Naruto Shippuden: TRTE (Past)**

**Start**

**26 Years Ago**

The war had taken many.

For some it was a never ending nightmare, while some took to these chances to gain an upper hand, raising the scales in their favor. It was a time of devastation, a time of pain, a time of hurt...war brought this. One day, you are fighting along with a trustend comrade, and the next, they are gone, because of the fighting. It was inevitable; death was natural in this world. It wasn't anything they were foreign to. But that didn't mean they grew cold to the feeling of lose, the pain of losing those that were special. Pain was still pain...and there was more to come. As long as there was hate, then pain would still exist. It was a cycle and the course couldn't be broke.

Some could only hope, right?

There were a few that could see through the darkness of the world they lived in and treaded toward the light in hopes of breaking this cycle.

They lived with hope...

With a unrelenting will that would overcome all...light or dark.

From a previous dark night of surprising peace, the sun was beginning to rise, illuminating the shadows of the darkness. The night was the only time the fighting would stop. It was quite obvious that it was the most opportune time to strike, but that was the same thing that ran through the minds of everyone, so most of the night each side had to keep up awareness of their enemy attacking, and movement was cut to a minimum.

Minato Namikaze, he was a proud man. He was thankful for his strength and his prowess all the same. With them, he was able to protect everyone that was close to him, and that meant everything to him. As long as he could do this, he would always be able to smile and look forward to the future. He had a wife, friends, a village...and some he had been together with almost his whole life.

He was a brother.

"Hey, Blondie."

At the call of his name, his eyes had began to slowly crack open to see a bit of the sun slipping through the cracks of the tree leaves, and the hover shields made the brightness of the sun just a tad bit low so that he could open his eyes with no regret. Once they were opened fully, his azure colored eyes cocked from left to right, attempting to locate the source of the recognizable voice he knew all too well.

After clearing the spaces from left and right, only finding members from his small cell, he closed his eyes once more. They were not the ones who were the owners of the voice. Lifting his hand, dragging it through his unkempt sun blond hair, the yyoung man let out a sigh. "Another day of this war, huh?" He spoke to himself, letting his words linger in the air, it echoing in his head.

Both his eyes suddenly shot open, realization striking him like a freight train, his body launched up in a sitting position. "Did I sleep through the whole night?" He asked himself, rubbing his eyes with his forearm, getting the sleep out from his eyes.

"Don't worry."

It was the same voice that had woke him, this being the reason he lowered his arm to get the view of what was in front of him, measuring the distance between him and the person who it belonged to. Blinking a few times, clearing his vision, a few feet away from his own position was a individual who back was turned to him, kneeling down as he stuffed his futon in a green backpack. What could be seen of the individual was that he wore a Konoha vest with a white top that was long than the vest, it having a high collar that reached the bottom of his cheek, a pattern of downward magatama around the helm with the left side of the collar being foldend down, a draping teal cape tied around his waist.

"I covered your shift." His voice was almost joyful, indicating that he didn't care much for it.

"Koichi?" Minato called out, watching the man, just a few months younger than him zip the bag close.

Pushing himself to stand at his full height, he left the bag on the ground.

Minato watched the man as he kicked the bag forward, it vanishing into thin air with a ripple like distortion left behind in the outline shape of the bag. This didn't seem to be anything new to him, though, his facial expression staying as it did before. "You know you could've just woken me up." He said, rubbing the back of his head, making his hair a lot more messier than it currently was. "I wouldn't want you to think I can't handle being on watch."

"Hmph."

Minato brows raised, hearing the huff from the man, watching him spin around, a hand on his hip, showing his pale face and large blood red eyes including his dark, combed back hair that had a single back of hair hanging across his face with a single tuft of hair over his ears sticking up like horns, having the necklace of the Jitsugetsu around his neck. The man had a large grin on his face that showed his teeth.

"I know what you can and can't handle..." The man said, issuing a perturbed blink from Minato. "And being on watch?" He chuckled with a look that said "Really" on his face. "Yeah, that isn't one of them."

Letting his words set in him, Minato closed his eyes in silence, smirking as he hung his head. The blond haired man nodded as he raised up to his feet, his eyes staying closed. "You sure like to do your research, huh?" He asked, opening his eyes to look at the a small smile.

The man lifted his hand, his eyes closed as he shook his head, an indifferent look on his face. "Who needs research when they've been around you part of their whole life?"

Minato chuckle quietly. "Well, you're right about that one." He said, defeated, keeping the smile. "If you don't mind me asking, how was the watch?"

Koichi raised a brow, lowering his arm. "Why?"

"I don't know..." Minato mumbled as he removed himself from off his futon, leaning over, rolling it up. "Just curious."

"Oh..." Koichi put a finger to his chin, his eyes wandering in thought. "Well...nothing too important to report."

After he finished rolling it up into a perfect cylinder, Minato lifted the futon between his body and his right arm. "Where you ever able to contact Asa?"

Koichi closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought it would be better to let her and Kakashi-kun rest for the time being..." He said, Minato's eyes lowering. "The two of them deserve it after what occurred yesterday."

"Yeah...you're right about that one." Minato said as a member of his squad approach him.

"Namikaze-san, we must begin a departure."

"Ah, yes." Minato nodded, replacing the slowly growing frown with a smile. But how could he smile? He had lost Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha to this war...this being half his squad. The only one that remained was Kakashi Hatake...

But this wouldn't mean he could just give up. It caused him a lot of pain to see his squad leave him at such a young age. They deserved better than that, but they were tools of the Shinobi world, and the best he could do was not mourn their death, but live to see the future for them.

Koichi saw the thoughtful look on Minato's face, deciding to intervene before he could get too lost. He wasn't a squad captain like how Minato was, but he could fully understand the loss. It was the same feeling he got when the Jitsugetsu had began disappearing a few years prior to the war. It was emptiness.

"Hey, Blondie."

Hearing this much like before, Minato eyes lifted to Koichi.

Koichi lifted his right hand and performed a single hand seal. "Want me to take that for you?"

Minato blinked, confused, but looked down to his arm to see the futon. The blond man smiled, nodding as he tossed it forward.

"Nejiton." Koichi whispered, the bag vanishing with a ripple distortion.

Keeping his smile on his face, Minato nodded to him. "Thanks."

Koichi waved the man off. "No sweat."

Minato chuckled, turning around to face the other five members of his squad that was just beginning to gather. Clearing his throat, he began to speak. "Okay, as of today, we begin our scouting of the area that surrounds Hi no Kuni, so if you have any question, please ask them know before we begin our departure." He told them, no one spoke up.

"I have a question."

Sighing, looking over his shoulder, Minato was met with Koichi slapping a hand on his shoulder.

Opening his mouth, Koichi began to speak, but he suddenly sensed a chakra signature, causing the pupil in both his eyes to enlongate into slits in a vertical fashion with a second one horizontal, a ring circling around the iris. The look on his face had changed into a look of a more serious individual, his eyes shifting over to the left and to Minato. "Blondie-"

Minato nodded, his brows knitted as his eyes shifted over to the right. "Six o'clock." He finished, flipping a three prong kunai in his right hand.

The two nodded to one another, measuring the distance between themselves and the other squad members, they could tell they weren't in the space of being hit. Simultaneously, Minato tossed his kunai upward to a branch as Koichi leaped over to the right, his body slowly fading out of existence from his right side to his left, creating a ripple distortion. As Koichi vanished, Minato had disappeared along with him with a yellow flash.

At the moment they had vanished, the remaining squad members let their eyes pop open wide, taking a retreating step back as a handful of kunai stabbed into the ground where the two were previously.

The Inuzuka of the group began to sniff along with his dog, seeing as if the two would use their signature techniques meant an enemy was near by. After a few seconds, the male pointed forward into a few branches a good whiles away, spotting four Kumo nin, high in the branches of trees.

Standing within the trees was two that stood out more than the others: the first being a large dark skin man with platinum cornrows and a matching goatee, while the second one, kneel down on one knee had dark skin, though it was a bit lighter than the first with a white bandana which held the kumo insignia, having templeless shades over his eyes.

The one in the front crossed his arms, humming to himself.

Minato appeared above, upside down in a crouching position as he stuck to a branch, plucking his kunai out to eye to men in the trees. 'Kumo...'

In the same second as Minato had appeared, Koichi fazed back into the real world: his right side appearing first until he was back, sliding on the grass, staring at the men in the trees with furrowed brows. 'Kumo's here.'

Behind the man that sported a goatee was another Kumo nin that was analyzing both the jutsu that had been displayed by the Konoha shinobi. "There's no doubt about..." He began, gaining the large, dark skin man's attention. "Two styles of Teleportation Jutsu...Blond hair and red eyes...these two must be Konoha's Yellow Flash and Konoha's Sly Ghost."

The man in front hummed as he eyed the two: Minato in the tree, upside down and Koichi with one hand to the ground. "So...I finally get meet Konoha's Ghostly Flash, huh?" He said, watching as Minato fall down from the tree, landing beside Koichi as he held his kunai. "But...I hear one of you is not as fast the other." His eyes shifted to Koichi. "And judging by your eyes, you must be the last of the two Jitsugetsu I've heard so much about, and this also mean you aren't the fast one hear."

Koichi stood up straight, his brows still furrowed, a hand on his hip.

"You seem to know us well enough, Unruly Ey." Minato said, keeping a tight grip on his kunai. "Aren't you suppose to the son of the Third Raikage, which makes you a fast one as well."

Ey hummed at him saying this, a smirk the most thing noticeable on his face.

"Hey, yo," The one with the bandana and shades began, moving his arms rhythmically. "Bro, we can take 'em, like flies' on a wall when we squash 'em."

Koichi raised a brow. "Um...what...was that?"

"Everyone, stand back," Minato told his squad. "Myself and Koichi can handle this." He informed, nodding to his partner.

Koichi nodded back to him, flipping through hand seal: horse, ox, and snake, ending it with the hand seal that coexisted with his Nejiton. "Flying Raijin Step Zero."

As he said this, Minato tossed his kunai forward, causing the Kumo nin to ready themselves.

"Yōton: Hidden Shadows." He finished, the kunai being swallowed as it left the world to leave behind a ripple distortion. With his eyes completely focused, they shifted around frantically over several times, with each glance, one of Minato kunai was placed.

As this continued, Eyes took his chance, covering himself in lightning chakra, launching toward Minato with his right arm cocked back.

Minato saw this coming, though he didn't move an inch.

Ey grinned, his single movement allowing him to clear the space between him and the Yellow Flash as he sent his fist at his face.

His fist got closer and closer to his face.

The simply continued to widen, but the thought of the Yellow Flash being able to dodge this came to his head until everything began to make sense as he saw a weird blade coming down on his arm. His eyes widened, attempting to pull back, but he was stuck in motion, so he braced himself. 'I'm moving to fast.'

When the said blade got closer, it sliced directly through his arm, but, instead of loping it off completely, the chakra cloak completely vanished.

"Took you long enough." Minato stepped out of the way casually, Ey's speed being the only thing that had been loped off.

"Ah?" Ey grunted, still in mind step, his eyes wide in disbelief. 'Did he force my chakra back into me?'

As Ey was still in midstep, Koichi raised his free left hand, shifting his eyes over to it as another three prong kunai appeared, over head tossing it over Ey as Minato caught. "Yeah, yeah, Blondie." He said, gripping the hilt of his weird blade with both his hands as he swung it to the right.

Minato caught his kunai in his left hand, flipping it into reverse grip as he stabbed it toward the back to hit Ey, but was surprised when they saw an octopus tentacles rush to them, pushing Ey out of the line of fire as it was sliced and the stabbed, it being forcefully poofed away.

**End**

I don't know what to say about it yet.

I still have yet to read any of it, because I want it to be a surprise when I first read it. I mean, my friend has got like eight of these thing wrote already for the precursor of the Naruto universe. She wanted me to read it along with you guys, so she made me type up the introduction and this in two different layouts so she would be able to past it here. I really hope she has a good idea when writing these.


	15. Seals for Dummies

So, here we are, with the next installment of TRTE, and this may be another long chapter. I really want to get passed the "Rescue the Kazekage" but trust me, it will not be rushed.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Just mine which are OCS.

**Naruto Shippuden: The Route to Enlightenment**

**Start**

Bitting down daintily on two colorful dumplings, Tenten slid the off of the stick, her eyes closed with both her brows turned upward. She at the dumplings, her chin resting on her other hand as she let out a deep sigh, alerting the girl across from her, though she remained silent. After a few seconds of chewing went on, the girl opened her right eye to peak through to the pink haired girl across from her. Opening her mouth, she released a more deep and profound sigh, her eyes staying closed as she took another dumpling off the stick and ate it.

Brow twitching, Sakura understood instantly what the girl was trying to do, but she remained silent, standing her ground, chewing through a single dumpling as the emerald green eyes of her's stared directly to the face of the brunette. Those sighs were deliberate; this was pretty obvious. Tenten was attempting to get her to worry about her, maybe even feel sorry for how they conducted things, but she was staying strong. The weapon master needed this anyways. Tough love went a long way when delivered correctly, but if she slipped up in any way, there would probably be things to regret.

Tenten knew when to show restraint, but her need and hunger to learn more about Kibou would only drive a wedge between them. It wasn't a bad thing either. Though the less she knew about him was better.

This was a game of feelings...most importantly: LOVE.

There was a fifty fifty chance that Tenten could hear something she didn't want to hear about him, and once she did, it would be impossible for here to forget it.

The game she was playing could be scary, because both sides of this affair held hearts, and that place could be fragile if the right chords were struck correctly.

"HUUUUUUU!"

Sakura brow twitched, Tenten releasing one more obnoxious sigh, it being loud, catching the attention of the family eating next to them. Letting out a sigh of her own in exasperation, her eyes closed. "What could possibly be wro-"

"You think it was okay for me to cancel on Kibou like that?"

Sakura blinked at the girl cutting her off.

"I mean, I understand you saying I need to give him space, but what if I hurt his feelings?"

Sakura waved her hand, a nonchalancell all over her face. "Yeah, I think anyone hurting his feelings is bit of a stretch." She explained, shaking her head as Tenten let out a soft "Yeah", agreeing with her. "And plus," Taking a dumpling off the stick she held in her hands, she chewed through it, her eyes closed. "Yru doch watch chu sheem chu desprite."

Opening both her eyes, sweat dropping, Tenten lifted her head from her hand and eyed the girl who happily ate. "Um...what?" She said, not having the slightest of clue on what the girl wantend to relay, the message being hidden by the consumption of a dumpling.

Swallowing, Sakura's emerald eyes opened. "You don't want to seem too desperate, right?" She asked.

"Hey, I'm not desperate, Sakura!" Tenten almost yelled, but she refrained from doing so, setting the stick back on her plate. "It was just..." Her eyes lowered.

Sakura tilted her head in question. "Just what?"

"It was just..." She repeated, but paused as her eyes lifted back to stare into Sakura's. "I thought it would be nice to have someone that understands me, you know?"

Sakura's eyes lowered as she said this, images of Sasuke coming to the front of her mind. "But..." She stopped herself, the dryness of her throat causing her to choke. Her eyes closed, but opened a second later to eyes the brunette. "What happened to you and Neji?" Was her question. "You two seemed great together."

Tenten shook her head and placed both her hands on the table, arms over one another as she rested her chin down on them. "Everything just grew stagnant..." She said, her eyes shifting down to the table, the point of interest being the sticks that the dumplings were on.

"Huh?"

"Nothing against Neji, but everything just felt wrong, Sakura?" She said, never making eye contact with her. "For some time, I thought it might've last forever, because everything seemed so fine when I was around him, but nothing ever came from being with him, nothing progressed..." Her words were soft, not thinking too much on them as they left. "There was no commitment; no passion."

Sakura simply continued to watched her.

Tenten turned her head to lay it down now, blinking as she looked to a wall next to the table. "From the day we had made it official, nothing had changed." She sighed. "It was as if we were still friends."

"And how do you think it'll be with Kibou?" Sakura asked, Tenten obviously not ready for this question. She already knew how her face had twisted, this question running through her head every time she ever thought about Sasuke.

Tenten had never responded.

"When it comes to it..." Sakura began, her eyes shifting away. "If you attend to pursue Kibou, it will not be easy for you." She said, watching as Tenten's head began to lift, her month opening.

"This isn't the first time I've heard this, Sakura." Tenten said, her voice dry, resting her chin once again on the palm of her hand, releasing a sigh. She took a hold of one of the sticks, twirling it around in between her fingers. "Kibou isn't as complex as you think, Sakura." A small smile gracing her features as she said this. "Yes, he may be very devoted to Asa, but he is also a human with flaws..."

"And you've spotted some of them?"

Slyly, Tenten's eyes clearly and pretty obviously shifted to the left and away from Sakura. "Well...more or less..."

"More or less?" Sakura questioned, her brow raising. "So...I'm guessing none."

"And you'd be right."

The two girls shared a laugh, and after a few seconds, to staring at one another for a few seconds.

"Sakura." Tenten spoke up, making the pink haired girl blink, a eye smile crossing the face of the brunette. "I'm glad you and I can talk about this." She said softly, keeping the smile plastered onto her face.

"What...?"

Letting out a rough sigh, her eyes staying shut, dragging a hand through her hair. "Usually when I talk to someone about this, they tell me HOW to get close to Kibou," She informed the girl.

"And who all have you spoke to it about?"

Her eyes shifted twice in blatant thought. A him resonated from her closed mouth, her eyes up and on the ceiling. "Um...you...Tsunade-sama, Asa-sama, Shikamaru, Ino, and Hinata." She answered truthfully.

"You spoke to Ino about it?" Sakura raised a brow, mentally scratching the back of her head in such a way that would remind anyone of Naruto.

"You don't want to know..." Tenten raised a hand.

Sakura chuckled sheepishly with her eyes closed. "Don't you know the two of them hates each other?"

"Yeah," Tenten folded her hands on the table. "Apparently, I wasn't invited to the meeting when this was established."

**(Flashback)**

**(Two Months Earlier)**

"He's insensitive, rude, crude, downright brood, inconsiderate, self-centered, ungracious, disrespectful, overly blunt, unsympathetic, discourteous, coarse...did I mention he's rude?"

Sinking down lower into the moderately hot water, Tenten, with her hair tied up, deadpanned at the girl across from her. The only thing that wasn't under the bathhouse water was the upper half of her face, grumbling, creating bubbles. 'Yeah...at least thirty times.' She said in her thoughts, not giving her a proper response, though Ino didn't seem to notice as she returned to listing off Kibou and his "many" imperfections.

**(Flashback End)**

**(Present)**

"And she listed at least eighty more."

Sakura chuckled in her expense, her eyes closed.

"But I'm not too sure..." Tenten continued. "I lost track after 'incompetent' came into play."

"Sounds pretty bad, Tenten." Sakura added.

"Not as worse as Shikamaru, though."

Sakura tilted her head. "How come."

**(Flashback)**

**(Two Month Earlier)**

"Oh, you mean the Jitsugetsu from the Chunin Exams?"

Tenten looked down to the male below her, sitting on her spot on top of a large water canister that was located at the top of the Nara household. Beneath her, lying down on a bench with his hands underneath his head, the young male staring to the clouds above them. A look of question had taken over her face. "Yeah, that's the one."

"Hm...that's pretty interesting." Shikamaru mumbled, his mind going straight to a child being conceived of both the DNA of a Jitsugetsu and Tenten. The Jitsugetsu was already was noted to be one of the few clans that wield extreme chakra reserves that could make those with it highly skilled shinobi, some averaging the strength of a Kage. Combining that with Tenten's natural chakra control would produce a powerful shinobi...a powerful shinobi with the Heiwagan...and that meant something.

"First time I've heard that." Tenten said dryly, her eyes shifting to the right. She couldn't properly read Shikamaru, but when he would usually think about something, he kept to the future and it's outcomes, so maybe that was a good sign in what he said. Leaning over just a few inches, she peered down to the pineapple head. "So, do you have any advice for me?"

"For what?"

"For me and Kibou."

"What? You two dating or something?" Shikamaru asked, opening his eyes.

"No," Her brow twitched, noticing he was trying to dodge her question.

"Then, what do you need advice for?"

"Because I'm lost when it come to dealing with him and you are one of the smartest people I know." She explained truthfully, her brows turned upward.

Shikamaru stayed quiet, his eyes closing, attempting to ignore Tenten, though this didn't last no more that three seconds.

"C'mon, Shikamaru..." Tenten pleaded, her hands clasped together.

Releasing a gritty sigh, Shikamaru let his mouth opened. "To be honest with you, I have no clue on what you should do." He began, causing Tenten's expression to drop gradually. "But...if you want my opinion, I advise to stop while their is still time left, because going through all of those motions is such a pain." Was the dry words that left his mouth. "It's such a drag." He said, resting his forearm over his eyes.

Sighing, Tenten placed a elbow on her knee a rested her chin on her palm. "Great advice."

**(Flashback End)**

**(Present)**

Sakura looked to Tenten in obvious awe, blinking at the bun brunette, but that wasn't really out of the ordinary. Now that she thought about it, it was pretty candid. Shikamaru being lazy and giving a halfhearted response should have been expectend to them by now. No matter how smart he was, it would never outweigh his need to relax. "But..."

"I should've seen it coming, I know." Tenten said, nodding her head.

Sakura shrugged. "Well..."

"Yeah, I know." Tenten added, smirking. "But I've decided that I have no more feelings for Kibou..."

"Wait...what...?" Sakura was confused. "Then...why are we still talking about this, Tenten?"

"Because I want to get to know him." Tenten said, staring Sakura directly in her eyes. "I still want to pursue him, but I want it to be mutual...you know...on both side."

"I know what you mean." Sakura confirmed, knowing this feeling all too well.

"But it's funny!" Tenten spoke up, looking at Sakura, her eyes raising just a bit. "Hinata...I REPEAT, HINATA..." A smile had crossed her face. "She was the one to give me the best advice on my problem."

"Really!?" Sakura's eyes had widened. Okay, if she was telling the truth and Hinata did give her legitimate information, she just had to hear what had transpired between the two of them. Taking this chance, she leaned in and over the table. "What did she say?"

Tenten blushed at how close they were, so she leaned back to distance herself from her. "Um...you may have to ask Hinata about this one."

Hearing this, Sakura gained a asking look, sitting back down. "Why?"

"She told me not to tell anyone..." Tenten lifted her hand, metaphorically zipping her mouth shut, turning her head away. "If you haven't heard it from her, then you're not about to hear it from me."

"Cmon, Tenten." Sakura leaned in, a mischievous smirk gracing her lips. "Spill the beans."

"Mm-mmm." Tenten shook her head, her eyes opening with her head still turned, looking out of the shop, catching the sight of a certain individual walking passed with his arms folded. "Hey, wait!" She called after him in the motion of getting up. Tapping the table, she smiled to Sakura while asking "You got the tab, right" before running out of the shop.

"Hey, wait a minute." Sakura said, watching the girl leave.

His arms were crossed over his chest, his face twisted in confusion, this overwhelming the time he found out this place had Television and electrical outlets. This subject perturbed him to the fullest extent, not knowing how he actually felt about it, having feelings that ranged from utter amazement to being outright appalled, but he wasn't too sure on his own feelings toward this. Was it strange that he kind of envied the boy and his talent?

For a long time, he had always wished he could put away any type of the way that boy did. It always shamed him to be at the dinner table back in the other world when his "family" was all together at the dinner table and he was the first to buckle from a food overload after only two or three slices of pizza, so he really admired the blond for being able to down at least twenty bowls of ramen.

"Hey, Ki-chan."

The dark skinned boy heard his name, or nickname, from one of the girls he was growing well accustomed to at this time. He had spent some time in this village, and had grown to like these people. Turning his head to look over his shoulder, he began to speak. "Oh," He started, seeing the brown hair of Tenten, turning fully to face her smiling face. "Hello, Tenten."

Smiling up to the slightly taller teen, she nodded.

"I hope everything is alright with you." He told her, his mind still clearly on Naruto and his bottomless pit of a stomach.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Ki-chan. I just want to apologize for canceling on you." She responded, eyeing the male from top to bottom. 'That's strange...' Ran through her thought. He looked to be a bit in his own world.

"It's nothing." Though his mind was elsewhere, he was still able to notice Tenten analyzing him. "Is there something I may be able to help you with?" He asked the girl, causing the brunette to gasp, flinching, seeing as he had spotted her staring at him.

"N-no..." Tenten replied, shakily, but soon replaced it with a thoughtful look. "You've just been in your own world since the training session." Her head tilted. "The real question is can I help you with anything?" A smirk was on her face.

He blinked, confused, but pictured how he had been emoting since he left Ichiraku, and with what had flashed in his mind would even cause him to worry about someone. His eyes closed as he shook his head. "No, I don't think anything is..." He paused for a quick second, this making hum as his eyes opened with a matter-of-fact expression. "Actually, I do want to ask you how long have you known Naruto?"

Hearing his question, Tenten sighed, hanging her head as she pressed her fingers to her forehead. "Oh, what did he do now?" She found her saying this each time someone asked about Rock Lee or Guy-sensei.

"Nothing yet." He said, smiling softly, this causing Tenten to raise her his in bewilderment, blinking at the boy.

"Huh?" Came from her mouth. "Then what could it possibly be?"

At her asking this, he frowned. "Has he..." He paused. "Has he always been that disgusting?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know."

"I don't know?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I don't know." This was only beginning to confuse Tenten.

She crossed her arms over her chest sent the boy a questioning look. "Explain."

"It's hardly anything to elaborate."

"Yes it is." She disagreed. "You seem stomped, and that is new for me." He looked at her, brow raised. "Maybe we can probably...just maybe get something to eat like we already planned...?" She gave an unsteady, but hopeful smile to the ruby eyed individual.

"Sorry, Tenten." Kibou said, an apologetic smile on his face, his eyes closed. "If it was a lot earlier, then I could make some time for it, but right now it's too late." He explained, which made her smile drop. "I got something I must do while the night is still young, so..." He let his hand land on her shoulder, Tenten forcing a smile. "I'll see you soon, okay." Nodding to her, he turned his back and began walking away from her, sending her a backwards wave. "Goodbye."

Tenten watched the boy walk away from her, forcing that smile to stay on her face as she waved the boy off. "...Yeah..."

Coming up to her right side, Sakura stopped, her arms crossed over her chest. In the distance, she could see the dark hair of Kibou. "So, how'd it go?"

Tenten sighed, letting her hand drop. "As you would expect..."

**(Scene Change)**

**(Same Time)**

"Another one, old man, keep 'em coming!"

This shout could be heard throughout a small section of Konoha, everyone letting this sink in, knowing who was finally back in the village after nearly three years.

Grinning widely as he sat on his stool, Naruto rubbed his hands together, very eager about his next bowl of his beloved ramen. The taste was still the same, Teuchi was still the same, and Ichiraku hadn't changed a bit. It was just like old times...minus Kibou constantly counting his bowls.

"Um...Naruto..." A tanned man with a brown ponytail at the top of his head sweat dropped, watching Teuchi bring over another bowl of ramen that would undoubtedly add onto the pile that was building up around the blond.

With his eyes closed and his trademark foxy grin, Naruto took the bowl from Teuchi and sat it in front of him. "Thanks, old man." He clapped his hands together and took a new pair of chopsticks, pulling them apart as he began to dig in not a second later.

Flashing an uneasy smile, the man next to Naruto analyzed the three towers of bowls, each stacked upon one another. At least he knew Naruto still had not change...well, his appetite at least. This was still the same, and it was no doubt about it. This caused him to chuckle softly as he watch his student dig into the next bowl of ramen as if these were the last in the whole Elemental Nations.

"Hm?" Naruto hummed, his eyes shifting to the right, stopping just in the middle of eating another helping, the rest just hanging out of his mouth. He blinked a few times as he looked to the man. "Shmting ga mather?" He asked, his mouth full of noodles.

"It's nothing, Naruto."He informed, keeping the smile on his face, getting a quick flash of a young Naruto in the same spot, doing what he had did best: eat ramen. This made the tanned man's smile widen.

As he continue to eat, Naruto's eyes shifted once again to look at the man. "Hey, Iruka-sensei, besides the obvious thing, anything new going on in the village?" He asked, pretty curious. It was already a fact that he would make his way around the latest gossip throughout the village, but he would rather hear some things right now.

The man shook his head at the boy. "Nothing too notable." He answered truthfully. "But you probably already heard about the past Chunin Exams."

Naruto grumbled, putting his bowl down, his brows furrowed. "Yeah, I heard..." He said, sighing. "Everyone's been able to rank up...and I wasn't here to do it with them."

"Naruto, you knew that wasn't your fault." Iruka said to the blond, reading his facial expression, knowing the boy was a bit saddened by it. "You were out training with Jiraiya-sama. It couldn't be helped."

"I know." Naruto frowned, looking down to the remaining bowl of ramen, not even in the mood to eat anymore. "But...if I would've keep my promise to Sakura, the full Konoha Eleven would be Chunin right now."

"You know..."Iruka lifted his hand, smirking to Naruto , catching the boy's eyes. "Ranking up isn't everything."

"Huh?"

"Naruto..." Iruka tilted his head a bit. "Why do you want to rank up so bad? I hope you know it does not change the level in strength you're at."

"Yeah, I know that, Iruka-sensei." He admitted, knowing that Genin, Chunin, and Jonin were just titles. "I just..." His eyes lowered. "I guess...I guess if I get up to Chunin, I thought I would get noticed a lot more in goal to become Hokage."

Iruka frowned softly, shaking his head. "I can see where you are coming from." He told the boy. "Most Jonin could usually become candidate for Homage due to how much they are an asset to your village, most being known throughout other villages by titles."

Naruto turned his head to the man. "You mean like Kakashi-sensei?"

"Uh-huh." Iruka nodded with a smile. "I think almost everyone has heard of the Copycat Ninja."

"Yep." Naruto said, lifting the bowl to his mouth, downing the rest of the ramen in one go.

"You still got a lot of time, Naruto, so make sure you do become someone everyone will speak of."

Naruto lowered the bowl from his mouth, snickering to himself, placing it back down. "Of course, Iruka-sensei." He said, lifting from his seat, backing up toward the exit as he lifted the drapes out of his way. "Thanks for the talk, but I gotta go now." He ran out of the shop, leaving a smiling Iruka.

'Hm...The Sixth Hokage...maybe.'

**(Break)**

**(Half an Hour Later)**

**(Home of Naruto Uzumaki)**

Twisting the door knob of his home, the blond grinned as he pushed the door opened. It had been such a long time since he left, so his mind held reserves for what he thought could be growing from the three years of neglect. Once he was fully in, he blinked, taking his shoes off at the entrance. "That's really weird." Mumbling to himself, he closed the door behind himself. What he envisioned had turned out to be clear, the hallway not having a single speck of dust; no cobwebs or little woodland creatures that could have made a nest in his home.

So, he was gone for at least three years and nothing had changed, not even the accumulation in the dust. He smiled, walking barefoot to the next door. 'Guess someone was looking out for the place while I was gone.' He spoke inwardly, twisting the knob of the next door opening it as he did the same with his eyes to see a spotless room ahead of him, it being shiny clean to the point where he did not recognize it even the slightest.

It was neat.

Neater than how he left it.

His eyes shifted around the room, spotting the shelf next to the bed, the bed in question being covered by a blood red cover, while the shelf had various book stacked on top of it, a large supply of scrolls being found on lower shelf. Taking a second look at it, he took notice of the lack of a certain picture he "posed" for when he was younger. "Has someone been living here?"

"You're interrupting me."

Hearing this, his eyes snapped to the right to see someone sitting in the middle of the floor, and judging by the sound of the voice, he could tell it was a guy speaking. There, in the middle of the floor, he could see the back and dark hair, that was tied back in a ponytail that dangled to the males shoulders, dressed in only black shorts. Naruto was only able to stare at the individual, but suddenly had a soft wind blow his hair back, a soft clap being brought with it, this causing him to blink.

Sighing, the dark haired individual turned his head to look over his shoulder, showing the blood red in his eyes and the cross detail with the ring around the iris. "Is there any reason you're here?"

Naruto gasped in shock, remembering those eyes, the look in them being one that he would remember for some time. His brows furrowed as his fist clinched. "Hey!" He called, pointing a finger to the boy. "This is where I live!"

Kibou huffed, turning his head back forward to continue what he was doing, his nonchalant attitude irritating Naruto to the fullest. "You sure?" He asked, Naruto grunted, taken back by the question, his finger going limp. "When Asa brought me here, there was no one around." Was the boy's explanation. "Just a picture and a few other things."

"Those were my things!" Naruto exclaimed.

"No that you mention it," Kibou began, but never turned his attention to the boy. "The blond in the picture did bare an uncanny resemblance to you..."

"Yeah!?" His voice raised. "'Cause that was me!"

"So, I guess the other one was Sasuke."

Naruto paused, a knot in his throat just before he was able to speak. "Yeah." The look on Naruto's face had turned serious. "What of it?" He inquired. "Gonna tell me how pointless it is to pursue him again, because if you are, I'm not gonna listen." Naruto spoke. "I don't care what anyone say...Sasuke is my-"

"Be quiet."

Naruto grunted as Kibou cut him off.

Still sitting on the floor, Kibou never took the chance to look at him, but he spoke. "This will be the last time I tell you this, Naruto...just like at the ramen place." He said. "I don't care about you and Sasuke's bond...it means little to me." The dark skinned boy admitted, causing Naruto to scoff. "The only person that matters to me in this village is Asa...and her alone..." He know these were lies, though he wanted to believe in them.

Naruto blinked, the boy's words sounding a bit weird to him. They were too affectionate to just be a strong bond between him and that brown haired woman. "The way you put it...sounds like you're in love with her." He chuckled, because he knew that wasn't true. That woman looked to be a lot older than him, and a relationship between the two would be a weird to explain to him.

Kibou didn't respond, not able to put together the right words to lead Naruto astray.

Noticing no response from the boy, the chuckling from Naruto had stopped. He blinked, everything clinking in his mind, his eyes widened. "Oh...whoa..." Was the first time that came to his mind. Taking a few steps closer, he placed a had on the sitting boy's shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look. "You are aren't ya?"

"It's hard to say; I don't know..."

Naruto simply stayed quiet for the time being,waiting to see if the boy would continue or not. Truthfully, he didn't know how on earth to deal with Kibou's dilemma...and, second thought, he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. His feelings toward Kibou was sliding being iffy, because he didn't know how to feel. He respected the boy due to the absolute fact that he was able to prevent him from taking the bell, which gave him an example of his strength, and he acknowledged this. But , on the other side of this fence, he also despised him due to how he spoke, giving him opinion on his and Team 7.

"Without her, I doubt I'd be alive." Kibou said, at this point not knowing what was coming from his mouth. "The first time someone came for my life, I was completely useless...I couldn't do anything about it...I had to watch her fight for me...she was willing to die for me if she had to."

"Cause that's what we are willing to do."

"Huh...?" This was the only thing that left the Jitsugetsu's mouth, lost obvious in his features. His head turned to look over his shoulder and at the hand on it, trailing up to the blond, a frown on his face.

Sighing, Naruto lifted up to his full height with a grunt, his brows furrowed calmly, though in a contemplative manner. "The day you sign up as a ninja, we understand what it means and we know bonds we must hold, so that each of us know that we are willing to risk our health...even our life to protect those who cannot protect themselves and those we love."

"Those we love..." Kibou turned his head forward. "This goes the same for Sasuke, huh?"

"It goes double for him."

"I know...Naruto..." Kibou closed his eyes, releasing a steady breath. "Your bond with him is almost like mine and Asa's...but...I envy your's a lot more."

Moving over to the bed, Naruto down, able to look at the face of the long haired boy. Well, his hair reached just below his shoulders, so that counted as it being long, right? "Huh? Why?"

Chuckling softly as he looked to the floor, Kibou shook his head. "I don't know...I'm just...talking now...I'm sorry..." He said quietly.

Naruto eyed the boy, noticing his change in demeanor from the time they were at the training field, but it was hard to pinpoint what was wrong with him. He already figured him being "in love" with Asa was a complete lie with how he was able to stop talking about it so quickly, so it was definitely something else. He decided to ignore it, closing his eyes as he leaned back on the bed. "You're strange..." He said, being a lot more blunt than he needed to.

Kibou's eyes opened just a bit, staring to the floor as a hapless smile slipped onto his lip. "Yeah. I-"

"But in a good way."

Snapping up to look at the blond on the bed, the hair of the boy swinging. "What?"

"If you want truthful...I don't really care how strange you can be." Naruto said as he leaned forward with a sigh, looking directly to the boy. "I just need someone that has my back..."

Looking directly into the azure eyes of the blond, Kibou couldn't help but ask "But what about Sasuke" in a slightly curious tone.

"What about him?" Was Naruto's response. "I'm bringing him back, but I'm talking about now...that's what I'm focused on...and you are able to defend yourself, so I need to know if our obvious differences will prevent Sakura and myself from succeeding? From bringing Sasuke back."

Kibou stared at the boy, wondering if he he actually had a choice of saying yes or no, so he went with the most logical course: the words that would assure he and Naruto could start anew. "Yes, of course."

"Alright." Naruto grinned, his eyes closed. Well, what do you know, it was pretty easy talking to him. All his mind was on was saying the wrong thing, clashing with both of their sphere jutsu, and leveling the place until it was just rubble then where would they stay? At this thought, his shifted around the room with a pondering look. "Now that we got that out of the way..." He began, causing Kibou to continue staring at him. "I know I'm not leaving and I know you don't want to leave..." His head went down and back to Kibou. "There's only one bed."

"Oh, that?" Closing both his eyes, Kibou made the hand seal that was associated with the Jitsugetsu's Nejiton.

'What...?' Naruto spoke inwardly, his eyes widening at the boy as he leaned forward. What was he planning to do? Hopefully, he remembered that they were inside.

"Nejiton." Kibou whispered, a portal opening just a few inches away from his back, pointing outward. "Namida no umi(Ocean of Tears)."

Standing up from the bed, a incredulous expression on him. The circle that appeared over his back had strongly resembled what space looked like at night with a ever moving edging, coated with a white hue. "Hey, what're you-"

Before Naruto could finish, the bed he had left in this before he departed with Jiraiya had been spat out and toward the door, blankets and sheets flying everywhere as the bed crashed into the door, sitting upright...the picture of the original Team 7 being spat out last

Eyes as wide as saucers, Naruto was at a lost for words, his mouth hanging open as he watched the bed fall back down on the top side, this making a loud slam which had caused him to flinch along with the boy.

"Oh...um..." Kibou didn't know where he could lead this, looking over his shoulder and the bed. "I'll fix that."

**(Break)**

The moment had passed, it being at least ten minutes into the future. Through the time, both Naruto and Kibou had straightened up the room, rearranging it so that the end table that was on the side of the bed was under the window with Naruto's turquoise covered bed on the right and Kibou's red covered bed on the left.

Plopping down on his bed, lying on his back with his legs off the side, Naruto sighed, resting his hands behind his head as he looked to the ceiling. "So..." He blinked a single time, the ceiling still the same as before, but, somehow...it had become different. It had always been a dream of his to have some to share this room with...with someone like a brother. And now that he had it, it felt very strange. Maybe it was because it was Kibou. He still didn't understand him and why he would lie about being in love with Asa. It was very evident that he was hiding something.

Sitting with his legs crossed in the Indian fashion, Kibou opened his left eye(the Dojutsu gone from it), Naruto's word interrupting his meditation.

"This is...strange, huh?" He inquired, sitting up as he scratched his cheek nervously.

"No."

Naruto blinked, his response surprising, his manner being calmer than he would expect. "Oh..." He was speechless. "It's not just a little weird for you?" He asked, his finger close together to measure how weird it was in Kibou's eyes.

"No."

This prompted Naruto to blink once more, his stoicism being even better than Kakashi's, and Kakashi was usually a lot calmer than this. "So, it's not..." He shook his head, wanting to drag this conversation in a different route, this making Kibou's head tilt, a hum coming from his mouth. Looking to him, he grinned. "Hey, that thing you did earlier..." A brow raised. "What was it?" He asked, watching a Kibou's other eye open. Eyes dragging over to the right and at the shelf with books and scrolls, his hand reached out for one of the scrolls.

'What is he...' Kibou's eyes trailed along with his hand.

It was a ton of them, so he didn't know which one of the scrolls to choose from. A humming tone lingered in his head as he chose the largest ome that was almost the size of Jiraiya's summoning scroll in width, but the length of it matched that of a normal scroll. Taking a hold of it, the peak of interest had drowned out Kibou saying "Stop, Naruto" in a attempt to apprehend him. Only taking a few seconds to inspect it, he read the down the side that said "Seals of the Jitsugetsu Clan" in Kano that looked much like "日月の一族のシール" when he read it.

Guiding his hand around it, he was able to find the paper that would unravel it, peeling it, but was suddenly hit with a sudden jolt of lightning that had him toss the large scroll forward. "Ouch!" He let out, shaking his hand, a barely visible steam of lightning around it.

Kibou deadpanned as he caught the scroll, laying it across him lap. "Now that was your fault..." He said as he watched the boy suck on his finger in a attempt to alleviate the pain.

Naruto grumbled through the slight pain.

Kibou shifted the scroll until the tag was pointed up to him. "It was pretty clear that the Jitsugetsu had something to hide if they made it only for those with the blood and chakra of the Jitsugetsu to read what's in these." He explained, though in actuality, it was to himself.

"Huh?" Came from Naruto's mouth, watching the boy place his right hand on the tag, it exploding in a poof of smoke not a second later.

"The Fuinjutsu I used before gives me the chance to throw anything with a chakra signature into a pocket dimension."

Naruto watched the boy unravel the scroll across his lap, tapping the first bit of what he guessed was the kanji, instructing the reader on how to perform what he was talking about. "But...wait, it was just a bed...I don't think it should have a chakra signature." He spoke in confusion.

"Unless someone with a extremely large chakra network has been sleeping on it, leaving traces of their own chakra on it."

"Oh..." He understood him now. Perking up a bit, he looked to the boy. "Wait...tell me this...what was that jutsu you doing when I walked in."

Hearing him, Kibou only hummed, unraveling the scroll even more until it reached pass the bottom of the bed. Most of the seals in there could not be used by him, but it was a few that he did have the chakra control to do, though he still needed a lot more practice,but he wouldn't admit it. Tapping the paper, he looked at the blonde. "You must mean the Tsuki no Hāto."

**End**

And there it is.

Yes, I know. I said the Kazekage arc would be done quickly, but I found it fun to right for Naruto, so it may be longer.

Tsuki no Hāto means Heart of the Moon


End file.
